In a sweeping series of operations that highlight the evolving complexity of Nigeria’s drug trafficking crisis, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has apprehended multiple suspects, including a convicted Malaysian returnee and a trans-border trafficker, with large quantities of dangerous narcotics, including methamphetamine and fentanyl.
A release on Sunday April 13, 2025, signed by Femi Olufemi, NDLEA’s Director, Media and Advocacy, said one of the headline arrests involved 41-year-old Ndubuisi Udatu, alias Richard, an ex-convict who recently returned from Malaysia where he served jail time for drug trafficking.
He was caught on Monday, April 7, 2025, at an NDLEA checkpoint in Namtari along the Ngurore, Yola Road, Adamawa State.
Udatu, travelling in a commercial bus, was found in possession of two massive music speakers stuffed with four parcels of methamphetamine weighing 2.7 kilograms and N22,300 in cash.
In a disturbing confession, Udatu admitted he came back to Nigeria specifically to resume his drug trafficking activities, with plans to distribute the meth in Yola, Mubi, and across the Cameroonian border.
In another high-stakes interdiction at the Mfum border in Cross River State, NDLEA officers, working jointly with Customs, intercepted 35-year-old Odoh Peter Ikechukwu.
The trans-border trafficker was found with a staggering 8,740 ampoules of assorted opioids, including the highly potent fentanyl, infamously linked to the opioid epidemic in the United States.
The total haul, weighing 395 kilograms, included morphine sulphate, phenobarbital sulphate, pethidine, and midazolam injections.
The crackdown extended to other states as well. In Kano, 27-year-old Aliyu Ibrahim was arrested on April 11 with 20 ATM cards and 25,600 pills of tramadol.
His arrest led to the capture of 48-year-old Gambo Lawan in Abuja, following the earlier seizure of 8,960 tramadol pills along the Gwagwalada expressway.
Further intensifying the offensive, NDLEA operatives in Niger State recovered 124 kilograms of skunk, a high-grade cannabis variant, hidden in 11 jumbo bags in the trunk of a Lexus vehicle driven by 58-year-old Ademiluyi Adedapo Collins along the Mokwa–Jebba road.
Despite the alarming frequency and scale of these drug hauls, NDLEA continues to pair enforcement with community outreach through its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) initiative.
Recent campaigns targeted secondary schools, polytechnics, and even traditional institutions in Anambra, Lagos, FCT, Oyo, Adamawa, and Kwara, aiming to counter drug abuse at the grassroots.
NDLEA Chairman, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), praised the diligence of officers across Adamawa, Cross River, FCT, Kano, and Niger State Commands, but emphasized that the war is far from over.
“We must not rest on our oars,” he charged. “Let us continue to raise the bar in our offensive action against drug cartels, while doubling efforts in reducing demand through advocacy and education.”
As traffickers become more brazen and inventive, these coordinated operations offer a sobering reminder of the scale of Nigeria’s narcotics problem, and the urgency of a multifaceted response.
