The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intercepted a massive shipment of codeine-based syrup worth over N1.1 billion naira at the Port Harcourt Ports in Onne, Rivers State. The seizure, described as one of the largest in recent times, highlights the agency’s continued efforts to curb drug trafficking across Nigeria.
According to the agency’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, the interception was made during a joint examination of a container already under watch by the NDLEA, the Nigeria Customs Service, and other security agencies.
“At the Port Harcourt Ports in Onne, Rivers state, NDLEA operatives on Friday, 13th June intercepted a shipment of 157,800 bottles of codeine-based syrup worth over N1.1 billion naira in street value,” Babafemi said in a press statement issued on Sunday. “The opioid consignments were hidden behind 257 cartons of ceramic sanitary wares.”
The NDLEA further disclosed that the crackdown extended beyond Rivers State. In Cross River, three suspects were arrested during a raid on a warehouse in Obereakai, Odukpani Local Government Area. The operation led to the recovery of 2,687kg of skunk, a potent strain of cannabis.
In Bauchi State, operatives acting on credible intelligence arrested two men along the Bauchi-Jos Road. The suspects, identified as Iriemi Imonikhe, 49, and Sa’idu Ladan, 30, were found with 195 blocks of skunk weighing 287kg concealed in a Toyota Camry with registration number AKL 201 GG.
Meanwhile, in Lagos State, a wooden boat was intercepted at Oniru beach by officers of NDLEA’s Marine Command, who recovered 14 jumbo sacks of skunk weighing 560kg.
The agency also recorded significant success at major airports. At the Muhammadu Buhari International Airport in Maiduguri, two businessmen, Ishaku Abdullahi, 30, and Buba Usman, 32, were arrested in the domestic wing with various quantities of ecstasy pills and skunk disguised in fanciful wrappers labeled “Lychee” and “Porro Legal.”
Similarly, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) in Lagos, NDLEA operatives intercepted a passenger, Edobor Ambrose Ali, attempting to board an Air France flight to Italy in the early hours of Saturday, June 14.
Working in collaboration with the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), officers discovered drug consignments hidden in his luggage during baggage scanning.
“The suspect was thereafter brought down from the aircraft for baggage identification after which a thorough search of the bag led to the discovery of 14,410 pills of tramadol 225mg and 200mg concealed in winter jackets,” the statement added.
Ali later confessed that he lives in Italy and was hired to courier the drugs to Milan for a payment of 2,000 Euros. “It was an all-expense paid trip,” he reportedly told investigators.
These coordinated operations demonstrate the NDLEA’s strengthened intelligence network and inter-agency collaboration in its war against drug trafficking and abuse. The agency has vowed to intensify surveillance and ensure that no part of the country becomes a safe haven for drug cartels.
For ongoing updates, the NDLEA urges citizens to report suspicious drug-related activities to its confidential tip lines.
