The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intercepted consignments of Captagon, popularly known as the “Jihadi drug”, and millions of opioid tablets worth more than N6.2 billion at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos.
The agency also arrested a suspected cross-border drug kingpin and recovered cocaine, heroin, cannabis and other illicit substances in separate operations across the country.
According to the NDLEA, operatives at the Lagos airport seized 47,200 Captagon pills on August 22, 2026, following the arrest of a 49-year-old man who arrived from Accra, Ghana, aboard an African World Airlines flight.
The pills, valued at more than N1.5 billion, were concealed inside blocks of local bathing soap popularly known as “Ghana Soap” in the suspect’s carton.
Captagon is an amphetamine-based stimulant that has been associated with illicit drug trafficking and reported use in conflict zones. The NDLEA said the suspect allegedly told investigators that he was expected to deliver the consignment in northern Nigeria.
In a separate operation at the airport, NDLEA operatives recovered 3,900,030 tablets of Tramaking 225mg and Tapentadol 250mg, weighing 2,787.40kg and valued at more than N4.6 billion.
The drugs were recovered from four abandoned consignments at the airport’s import shed after no one came forward to claim them.
Three of the consignments contained 900,000 tablets of Tramaking and arrived on RwandAir flights from Bangladesh, while the fourth contained 3,000,030 tablets of Tapentadol brought in on a Qatar Airways flight from Amsterdam.
The consignments were placed under surveillance before being formally retrieved after a joint examination involving the NDLEA, Nigeria Customs Service and other stakeholders.
Meanwhile, the agency said a 31-year-old United States returnee was arrested in the Ikate area of Lekki, Lagos, on August 19 while allegedly attempting to collect 3.350kg of “Loud”, a potent strain of cannabis imported from the United Kingdom.
In Rivers State, NDLEA operatives raided the Abuja Down/Up area of Port Harcourt, recovering illicit drugs concealed in a fireproof iron safe. The safe was opened with a welding machine, leading to the recovery of 237 grammes of Colorado, 316 grammes of cocaine and 10 grammes of heroin.
In Ondo State, three suspects were arrested along the Ipele-Idoani Road with 728kg of skunk allegedly concealed in their truck, while two other suspects were arrested at Aponmu Forest with 341kg of the same substance.
The NDLEA also reported the recovery of more than 176,000 tablets of assorted opioids, including tramadol and Molly, during separate interdiction operations in Delta State between August 26 and 28.
The agency said it would continue its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation campaigns in schools, worship centres, workplaces and communities across the country.
