NDLEA intercepts N6.2bn ‘Jihadi Drug’, opioids at Lagos Airport, arrests cross-border kingpin

Crime Diary

LAGOS, Nigeria (NPA) — The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has recorded a major breakthrough in its fight against drug trafficking following the interception of consignments of captagon, widely referred to as the “Jihadi drug”, and millions of opioid pills worth more than N6.2 billion at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos.

The operations also led to the arrest of a suspected cross-border drug kingpin, while cocaine and heroin were recovered from a fireproof safe during a raid on a drug den in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

According to a statement published by the NDLEA on its official website on Sunday, August 30, 2026, operatives arrested a 49-year-old suspect, Akinbile Kazeem Aikins, following the interception of a consignment of captagon concealed in blocks of locally made bathing soap, popularly known as “Ghana Soap”.

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The suspect was arrested at the Lagos airport on Saturday, August 22, shortly after arriving from Accra, Ghana, aboard an African World Airlines flight.

A search of his carton led to the discovery of 47,200 pills of the illicit amphetamine drug, with an estimated street value of more than N1.5 billion.

The NDLEA said Aikins allegedly claimed during preliminary investigation that he was expected to deliver the consignment to a destination in northern Nigeria.

Captagon has been associated with illicit drug networks operating in conflict zones and has been linked to extremist financing, earning it the controversial nickname “Jihadi drug”. The NDLEA said the drug was first intercepted in Nigeria in September 2021 at the Apapa port in Lagos.

In another operation at the MMIA, NDLEA operatives recovered no fewer than 3,900,030 tablets of Tramaking 225mg and Tapentadol 250mg from four abandoned consignments at the airport’s import shed.

The opioid pills, with a combined gross weight of 2,787.40 kilograms, have an estimated street value of more than N4.6 billion.

Three of the consignments, containing 900,000 tablets of Tramaking and weighing 815.40 kilograms, arrived from Bangladesh aboard RwandAir flights, while the fourth consignment contained 3,000,030 tablets of Tapentadol weighing 1,972 kilograms and arrived aboard a Qatar Airways flight from Amsterdam.

The agency said the consignments had been placed under surveillance after no claimant appeared to take delivery of them. They were eventually retrieved following a joint examination involving NDLEA officers, the Nigeria Customs Service and other stakeholders on Friday, August 28.

In a related operation, a 31-year-old United States returnee, Sowunmi David Oludotun, was arrested on August 19 at Ikate, Lekki, while attempting to take delivery of 3.350 kilograms of Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis allegedly imported from the United Kingdom.

Meanwhile, in Rivers State, NDLEA operatives raided the notorious Abuja Down/Up area of Port Harcourt, where they recovered a fireproof iron safe from a suspected drug den.

The safe was forced open with a welding machine on Tuesday, August 25, leading to the recovery of 237 grams of Colorado, 316 grams of cocaine and 10 grams of heroin.

The agency also reported several other arrests and drug seizures in Ondo and Delta states.

NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig.-Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), commended officers of the MMIA, Ondo and Delta commands for the successful operations.

Marwa urged operatives across the country to sustain the agency’s balanced approach to drug control and remain vigilant against traffickers exploring new methods of concealing illicit substances.

He warned that drug traffickers were increasingly resorting to everyday household items, including bathing soap, to move illegal consignments across borders and evade detection.