The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has successfully dismantled a drug trafficking network spanning across Togo, Benin Republic, and Nigeria. Authorities intercepted 1.63 million tramadol pills hidden within custom-built compartments in two trailers traveling from Lagos to Kano. This operation follows a previous seizure of over 500,000 pills from the same transit route just a week earlier. The first trailer was stopped on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway on July 2, leading to the arrest of 22-year-old driver Jabir Kabiru and the recovery of 853,000 pills. A follow-up operation on July 4 resulted in the seizure of an additional 777,000 pills and the arrest of 22-year-old driver Muhammed Nuhu.
Separately, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos, officers seized 4.7 kilograms of Canadian Loud cannabis hidden in shipments marked as Odugwu. Following the arrest of two cargo agents and the subsequent identification of Edeh Onyeamachi Stanislus, investigators apprehended businesswoman Chioma Nneka Mokeme in Surulere, who confessed to her involvement in the smuggling operation. In other nationwide efforts, law enforcement arrested an 80-year-old man in Rivers State for drug possession and apprehended a married couple in Benin City, Edo State, after discovering over 400 kilograms of cannabis and synthetic drugs in a warehouse. Furthermore, a 38-year-old Chadian woman and her accomplice were arrested in Lagos linked to a 50,000-pill tramadol seizure in Kogi State. NDLEA Chairman Brig.-Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.) commended the various state commands for their diligence in executing these operations.
