NDLEA Arrests Two British Nationals, Seizes N6.5bn Worth Of Drugs At Lagos And Rivers Ports

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intercepted opioids worth more than N6.5 billion at seaports in Lagos and Rivers states during operations carried out last week.

In a statement on Sunday, May 25, NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi said the seized drugs include over six million pills—mainly tamol 225mg, tapentadol 225mg, and carisoprodol 225mg—as well as 332,000 bottles of codeine-based cough syrup.

According to him, the drugs were recovered from the Port Harcourt Ports Complex in Onne, Rivers State, and the Apapa Seaport in Lagos.

Babafemi explained that the busts were made possible through intelligence gathering and monitoring of new drug trafficking routes, which led to the containers being flagged for full inspection.

At Onne Port, six million opioid pills and 162,000 bottles of codeine syrup were found in two containers during a joint inspection by NDLEA, Customs, and other security agencies on May 19 and 20.

At Apapa Port, NDLEA operatives uncovered another 170,000 bottles of codeine syrup from a container under close surveillance during a joint check on May 22.

In a related operation, the NDLEA arrested two British nationals—Mhizha Tatendra and Ayedipe Adejuwon—alongside two Nigerians, Shonowo Imole and Ofuoma Ayobami, for trying to smuggle 92 bags of “Loud,” a high-grade cannabis strain, into the country.

The agency said the drugs, weighing 51.1 kilograms, were brought in through the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos.

The drugs were intercepted after Alexander Mhizha, arriving on a Qatar Airways flight from Doha, was discreetly monitored by NDLEA agents. He was allowed to clear airport checks and followed to the car park, where Adejuwon, Imole, and Ayobami were waiting in an SUV to pick up the drugs.

NDLEA operatives moved in and arrested all four suspects as they attempted to leave the airport.

Alexander later admitted he was recruited while on vacation and was promised £1,300 for successfully delivering the package.

Adejuwon, identified as the group’s ringleader, said he had flown into Nigeria a day earlier from South Africa through Ghana.

A follow-up search at his apartment in Lekki uncovered N3.8 million in cash, 17,200 South African Rand, N93,000, an Apple laptop, an iPhone 14 Pro Max, and four canisters of laughing gas (nitrous oxide).

The NDLEA says investigations are ongoing.

KanyiDaily recalls that the NDLEA recently apprehended Alhaja Aishat Feyisara Ajoke Elediye, a 61-year-old Lagos socialite and alleged drug kingpin, for her involvement in large-scale drug trafficking.