By HeapNews
In a series of intelligence-led operations, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has dismantled a trans-border drug trafficking syndicate, arresting four key members and recovering multi-million-naira worth of tramadol pills concealed in vehicles en route to border towns.
Following weeks of surveillance, NDLEA operatives intercepted a Sienna bus with registration number ABJ 452 HG along the Nasarawa-Toto road in Keffi, Nasarawa State, on January 27, 2025. The vehicle, travelling from Onitsha, Anambra State, to Yola, Adamawa State, carried two suspects: Zahradeen Adamu, 27, and Abubakar Usman, 44. A second Sienna bus, driven by Abba Usman, 48, was also seized. Upon inspection, authorities discovered 190,960 pills of tramadol hidden in steel compartments beneath the vehicles’ bumpers and spare tire compartments.
Investigations traced the consignment to an Onitsha-based drug dealer, Kingsley Mbaeri, who was arrested at his residence on Uga Street on January 29. Two vehicles—a Toyota Corolla and another Sienna bus—were also confiscated during the operation.
Nationwide Crackdown on Illicit Drugs
In a separate bust, NDLEA’s Intelligence Department intercepted a commercial bus at Abaji checkpoint, Federal Capital Territory, on February 4. A passenger, Chimezie Henry Ojingwa, 32, was arrested with a stash of methamphetamine, Loud (a potent strain of cannabis), and dimethyl sulfone, a precursor for meth production, hidden inside motor spare parts.
Additionally, on February 13, NDLEA officers on patrol along Ogoja-Abakaliki road, Cross River State, seized 170,000 tramadol pills from a truck driven by Paul Chukwudi, 31. Further, operatives at Lagos’ Apapa seaport recovered 85,400 bottles of codeine-based syrup imported from India on February 11.
In Borno State, two suspects, Halilu Isa and Gambo Umaru, were apprehended on Bama Road, Maiduguri, with 60 compressed blocks of cannabis (skunk) weighing 72kg on February 14. Simultaneously, NDLEA operatives in Ekiti State raided a notorious drug joint at Iloda Street, Ikole-Ekiti, arresting Bala Muhammed, 57; Yahaya Adamu, 55; and Abdullahi Shehu, 30, with 83kg of skunk.
Further Arrests and Seizures
Lagos operatives arrested 28-year-old Samiat Olabisi Yussuf on February 15 at her Lekki residence, recovering 169.5 liters of nitrous oxide (laughing gas) and 111 grams of Loud. In Taraba State, Ibrahim Usman, 40, was caught with 88kg of Arizona and Ghana Loud in Wukari, while Solomon James, 40, was found in possession of 44.84kg in Takanaba, Sabongari, Jalingo LGA.
War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) Intensifies
Beyond enforcement, NDLEA commands nationwide have continued their War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) campaign through sensitization lectures and advocacy visits. Educational institutions such as Government Technical College, Oku (Akwa Ibom), Future Leaders Academy, Kishi (Oyo), Government Secondary School, Bashire (Sokoto), and Jesuit College, Agbado Ekiti (Ekiti) have been engaged. Additionally, the Kano NDLEA command delivered awareness lectures for married women in purdah at the Markaz Umar Bn Khattab Centre.
NDLEA Chairman/Chief Executive Mohamed Buba Marwa commended the agency’s officers for their diligence in the recent arrests and seizures, urging continued vigilance in combating drug trafficking across the country.