Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have foiled attempts by drug trafficking syndicates to smuggle illicit substances concealed in body cream containers, winter jackets, and cartons through Lagos.
At the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, a 37-year-old suspect, Friday Ehianuka, was arrested while attempting to board an Ethiopian Airlines flight to Rome, Italy, with 2,698 pills of tramadol hidden inside containers of skin-lightening body cream packed in his luggage.
The suspect, said to be based in Milan, Italy, reportedly confessed he was promised payment in euros upon successful delivery of the drugs.
In a related operation, NDLEA officers intercepted another passenger, Christian Agbonhese, at the airport’s departure hall while he was preparing to board a Lufthansa flight to Milan.
A search of his luggage uncovered 28,470 pills of opioids—including tramadol and tapentadol—concealed in winter jackets.
Beyond the airport, operatives also intercepted drug shipments at a courier firm in Lagos, including cannabis hidden in cartons from the United States and methamphetamine concealed in package walls bound for New Zealand.
The crackdown extended across several states, with major seizures recorded in Kano, Lagos, Edo, Kaduna, Taraba, Adamawa, Oyo, and the Federal Capital Territory, where thousands of tramadol pills and large quantities of skunk were recovered, alongside multiple arrests.
NDLEA Chairman, Mohamed Buba Marwa, commended officers for the operations and urged continued vigilance in the fight against drug trafficking and abuse nationwide.