By Lizzy Chirkpi
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intercepted a consignment of captagon, described as a “jihadi drug”, and millions of opioid tablets worth more than N6.2 billion at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos.
The agency said the captagon was concealed inside blocks of local bathing soap, popularly known as “Ghana Soap”.
NDLEA operatives arrested a 49-year-old cross-border drug kingpin, Akinbile Kazeem Aikins, on August 22, 2026, shortly after he arrived in Lagos from Accra, Ghana, aboard an African World Airlines flight.
According to the agency, a search of his carton led to the recovery of 47,200 pills of captagon, with an estimated street value of more than N1.5 billion.
The NDLEA said Aikins claimed after his arrest that he was expected to deliver the consignment in northern Nigeria.
The agency described captagon as an illicit amphetamine-based drug that has been associated with extremist networks and conflict zones.
It said the drug was first intercepted in Nigeria in September 2021 at the Apapa Port in Lagos.
NDLEA Recovers N4.6bn Opioids
In a separate operation at the MMIA import shed, the NDLEA recovered 3,900,030 tablets of Tramaking 225mg and Tapentadol 250mg from four abandoned consignments.
The drugs, weighing 2,787.40 kilogrammes, were estimated to have a street value of more than N4.6 billion.
The agency said three of the consignments, containing a combined 900,000 tablets of Tramaking, arrived from Bangladesh aboard RwandAir flights.
The fourth consignment, containing 3,000,030 tablets of Tapentadol, arrived from Amsterdam through Qatar Airways.
According to the NDLEA, the consignments had been placed under surveillance after no one came forward to claim them.
They were eventually retrieved on August 28 following a joint examination by NDLEA officers, the Nigeria Customs Service and other stakeholders.
US Returnee Arrested With ‘Loud’
Also in Lagos, NDLEA operatives arrested a 31-year-old United States returnee, Sowunmi David Oludotun, in the Ikate area of Lekki on August 19.
The agency said Oludotun was arrested while attempting to take delivery of 3.350 kilogrammes of “Loud”, a potent strain of cannabis allegedly imported from the United Kingdom.
Cocaine, Heroin Recovered From Safe in Rivers
In Rivers State, NDLEA operatives raided a notorious drug den in the Abuja Down/Up area of Port Harcourt, where they recovered a fireproof iron safe.
The agency said officers had to use a welding machine to break open the safe on August 25.
Inside, they found 237 grammes of Colorado, 316 grammes of cocaine and 10 grammes of heroin.
1,069kg of Cannabis Seized in Ondo
In Ondo State, five suspects were arrested in separate operations, with a total of 1,069 kilogrammes of skunk, a strain of cannabis, recovered.
The agency said three suspects—Oyedele Daniel, 42; Taye Saliu, 36; and Kehinde Saliu, 36—were arrested along the Ipele-Idoani road on August 28 with 728 kilogrammes of skunk concealed in their truck.
Two others, Uche Joseph, 35, and Godwin Umeh, 21, were arrested at Aponmu forest on August 26 with another 341 kilogrammes of the substance.
The NDLEA also reported the recovery of more than 176,000 tablets of assorted opioids, including tramadol and molly, in two operations conducted in Delta State between August 26 and 28.
Commending the officers involved in the operations, NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd), urged personnel across the country to sustain the agency’s approach to drug control.
Marwa directed officers to maintain pressure on drug traffickers, whom he said were becoming increasingly desperate and innovative in concealing illicit drugs.
He specifically cited the concealment of drugs in everyday household items, such as soap, as one of the methods traffickers were adopting to evade detection.
He urged personnel to “continue with the ongoing balanced approach to the drug control efforts of the Agency” while sustaining the momentum against drug traffickers.
The NDLEA said its commands also continued their War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation campaigns in schools, worship centres, workplaces and communities across the country during the week.