NDLEA Detains Indian, Three Nigerians Over ₦3.9bn Tramadol Shipment

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has arrested an Indian businessman, Gupta Ravi Kumar, along with three Nigerian associates, over a ₦3.9 billion Tramadol shipment intercepted at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos.

The Nigerians—Ogunlana Olanrewaju, Olushola Kayode, and Bakare Muheeb—were linked to 2,248,000 pills of Tramadol 200mg/225mg imported from Delhi, India. According to NDLEA spokesman, Femi Babafemi, the consignment was disguised as multivitamins in 114 cartons and arrived on an Ethiopian Airlines flight on September 8.

Babafemi explained that operatives had placed the shipment under surveillance and, on September 11, moved in on a clearing agent and two drivers attempting to convey the drugs in trucks. A follow-up operation led to Kumar’s arrest as he tried to take delivery of the consignment.

At the airport’s terminal two, operatives also intercepted a passenger, Onyeganochi Stanley Ifeanyi, on his way to Doha with 900 grams of skunk hidden in crayfish. His confession led to the arrest of his accomplice, Ohadiegwu Anthony Uchenna, in whose hotel room another 200 grams was found.

At the Tincan Port in Lagos, officers recovered 161 parcels of Canadian Loud weighing 81.7kg and 1.2kg of hashish oil from a container of spare parts imported from Montreal. Two suspects, John Ochigbo, 53, and Okeke Kingsley, 26, were arrested. Another 65kg of Loud was seized on Third Mainland Bridge after operatives intercepted a Toyota Sienna, arresting the driver, Abubakar Ibrahim, 42.

In separate operations, methamphetamine concealed in a picture frame bound for Gabon and 1.1kg of Loud hidden in decoders destined for the UAE were intercepted at courier firms in Lagos. In Ikorodu, a factory producing “skuchies”—a mixture of cannabis and blackcurrant—was raided, yielding 6,029 bottles of the drink and 4,232kg of cannabis. Factory manager, Joy Awosika, was arrested, while Akeem Oriola was caught with 26kg of skunk in Mushin.

In Abuja, a dispatch rider, Godsplan Vincent, 29, was arrested at Utako with 50.7 grams of cocaine and 66 grams of Loud. In Oyo State, three women—Faidat Azeez, 25; Alanu Fatimoh, 40; and Mojeed Taiwo, 25—were caught with 17kg of skunk.

In Kano State, Musa Shuaibu, 38, was found with 100,000 Tramadol pills, while other suspects were arrested with 196 litres of akuskura, 34.1kg of skunk, 493 tubes of rubber solution, and 25 litres of “suck and die.” In Anambra, a couple, Nzube and Ebele Onyedika, were arrested with 13.9kg of methamphetamine and 5.3kg of skunk, while another suspect, Nnamchi Tochukwu, was caught with meth, tramadol, swinol, heroin, and skunk.

In Yobe State, Mohammed Auwal was arrested with 22.1kg of cannabis, while in Ogun, three cross-border traffickers—Kunyadi Ogbungbun, 24; Olalekan Adewale, 20; and Sanya Joshua, 22—were arrested with 394kg of skunk at Imeko during a joint NDLEA-police operation.

In Edo State, operatives destroyed over 16,966kg of cannabis on a 6.7-hectare plantation in Ugbogyi forest, Ovia South West Local Government Area. Another 1,176kg was recovered, with four suspects taken into custody.

NDLEA Chairman, Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd.), commended the officers and urged them to remain vigilant, stressing that the arrests and seizures demonstrate the agency’s balanced strategy in tackling the drug problem across the country.