AN Indian businessman, Gupta Ravi Kumar, and three Nigerian accomplices — Ogunlana Noah Olanrewaju, Olushola Idrees Kayode, and Bakare Korede Muheeb — have been arrested by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) in connection with the seizure of 2,248,000 pills of tramadol 200mg/225mg intercepted at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos.
The tramadol shipment, worth ₦3.99 billion in street value, was imported from Delhi, India, disguised as multi-vitamins in 114 cartons, and arrived at the Lagos airport import shed on an Ethiopian Airlines flight on Monday, 8th September 2025.
A team of NDLEA officers who had placed the consignment under surveillance swooped on a clearing agent and two drivers attempting to move the shipment out of the airport in two trucks on Thursday, 11th September. A follow-up operation the next day, Friday, led to the arrest of the Indian businessman, Kumar, when he tried to take delivery of the consignment.
At the Terminal 2 departure gate of the airport, NDLEA operatives on Sunday, 7th September, intercepted a passenger, Onyeganochi Stanley Ifeanyi, travelling on a Qatar Airways flight to Doha. A search of his bag led to the recovery of 900 grammes of skunk — a strain of cannabis — concealed in crayfish. As a first-time traveller, Onyeganochi claimed the bag was handed to him by a Qatar-based Nigerian, Ohadiegwu Anthony Uchenna, who had accompanied him to the airport.
His confession led to the immediate arrest of Uchenna, who was still within view. A search of his hotel room in Ajao Estate uncovered an additional 200 grammes of the same substance. He admitted that he planned to return to Doha days later to retrieve the bag from Onyeganochi if it had passed security undetected.
At the Tincan Port in Lagos, a total of 161 parcels of Canadian Loud (81.7kg) and 1.2kg of hashish oil were recovered from a 40ft container of vehicle spare parts and used cars imported from Montreal, Canada, during a joint examination on Tuesday, 9th September. Two suspects, John Ochigbo, 53, and Okeke Kingsley, 26, were taken into custody in connection with the seizure.
Another shipment of Canadian Loud weighing 65kg was tracked from the port to Third Mainland Bridge, where NDLEA operatives intercepted a Toyota Sienna vehicle conveying the consignment, recovered it, and arrested the driver, Abubakar Ibrahim, 42, on Thursday, 11th September.
Two separate shipments of methamphetamine concealed in a picture frame, and Loud hidden in video players, were seized at courier companies in Lagos on Monday, 8th September, and Thursday, 11th September, respectively. While six grammes of meth recovered from the picture frame were destined for Gabon, 1.1kg of Loud in the decoder machines was heading to the United Arab Emirates.
In the Ikorodu area of Lagos, NDLEA operatives, acting on intelligence, raided a factory producing skuchies — a blend of cannabis and blackcurrant drink — on Thursday, 11th September. No fewer than 6,029 bottles of the psychoactive substance and 4,232kg of cannabis were recovered from the factory at Caritas, Ibeshe, while the manager, Joy Awosika, was arrested. Another suspect, Akeem Oriola, was arrested the same day in Mushin with 26kg of skunk.
In Abuja, NDLEA operatives on a stop-and-search operation at Utako on Thursday, 11th September, arrested a dispatch rider, Godsplan Vincent, 29, while attempting to distribute 50.7 grammes of cocaine and 66 grammes of Loud. Three women — Faidat Azeez, 25; Alanu Fatimoh, 40; and Mojeed Taiwo, 25 — were also arrested in Oyo State after being found with 17kg of skunk.
No fewer than 100,000 pills of tramadol were seized from Musa Shuaibu, 38, at Gadar Tamburawa along the Zaria–Kano road on Monday, 8th September. In Kano, operatives recovered 196 litres of Akuskura, a new psychoactive substance, from Abubakar Adamu, 35, at Na’ibawa, while 34.1kg of skunk, 493 tubes of rubber solution, and 25 litres of “suck and die” were seized from Basiru Umar, 18, at Wailari, Kumbotso LGA, on Thursday, 11th September.
In Anambra State, a couple — Nzube Onyedika, 41, and Ebele Onyedika, 42 — were arrested during a raid in Obosi, where 13.9kg of methamphetamine and 5.3kg of skunk were recovered. In a separate operation, Nnamchi Tochukwu, 36, was caught with meth, tramadol, swinol, heroin, and skunk.
In Yobe State, Mohammed Auwal was arrested after 22.1kg of cannabis was recovered from his residence in Potiskum. Three trans-border traffickers — Kunyadi Kunle Ogbungbun, 24; Olalekan Adewale, 20; and Sanya Joshua, 22 — were arrested with 394kg of skunk at Imeko, Ogun State, during a joint operation with police and local vigilantes on Sunday, 7th September. Three motorcycles used in conveying the consignment were also seized.
