The seizures included over six million opioid pills and 332,000 bottles of codeine-based cough syrup, according to Femi Babafemi, NDLEA Director of Media & Advocacy, in a statement on Sunday.
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intercepted a massive haul of illicit drugs valued at over N6.5 billion at the Port Harcourt Ports Complex, Onne, Rivers State, and the Apapa Seaport in Lagos.
The seizures included over six million opioid pills and 332,000 bottles of codeine-based cough syrup, according to Femi Babafemi, NDLEA Director of Media & Advocacy, in a statement on Sunday.
He asserted that the interception followed extensive intelligence gathering and the watch-listing of containers suspected of being used by drug cartels to ship narcotics into Nigeria.
According to the statement, a joint examination conducted between May 19 and 22, 2025, by NDLEA operatives and other security agencies led to the recovery of six million pills of tamol, tapentadol, and carisoprodol (225mg each), along with 162,000 bottles of codeine syrup at the Port Harcourt port.
At Apapa Port, an additional 170,000 bottles of codeine were discovered.
The statement reads stated, “No fewer than six million pills of opioids namely: tamol 225mg, tapentadol 225mg and carisoprodol 225mg as well as 332,000 bottles of codeine-based cough syrup with a combined street value of Six Billion Five Hundred and Twenty-Four Million Naira (N6,524,000,000.00) have been intercepted by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) at the Port Harcourt Ports Complex, Onne, Rivers and the Apapa seaport, Lagos.
“The seizures at the Apapa and Onne ports followed intelligence and tracking of new trafficking routes to ship illicit substances into Nigeria by drug cartels, which necessitated the watch-listing of the containers for 100 percent examination.
“The consignments at the Port Harcourt ports: six million pills of opioids and 162,000 bottles of codeine syrup were uncovered in two containers on Monday 19th and Tuesday 20th May 2025 during a joint examination of the shipments by NDLEA officers with men of the Nigeria Customs and other security agencies.
“At the Apapa port in Lagos, a total of 170,000 bottles of codeine syrup were discovered in a watch-listed container by NDLEA operatives during a similar joint examination exercise on Thursday 22nd May.”
Also, the NDLEA said its operatives at Esuk-Odot village in Odukpani LGA, Cross River State , recovered 200kg of skunk on Wednesday, May 22, “while 1,957.5kg of the same psychoactive plant was destroyed at Ohosu forest, Ovia South West LGA and Okhuse community forest, Owan West LGA, Edo State on Friday, 23rd and Saturday, 24th May”.
It said, “In Nasarawa state, two suspects: Sunday Daniel, 51, and Abu Peter, 30, were arrested at Keffi by NDLEA operatives on Saturday 24th May when 4,000 kilograms of skunk were discovered concealed under unprocessed wood in their lorry, while another suspect, Godwin Obi, 39, was nabbed at Karu with 154.5kg of same substance on Wednesday 21st May.
“In Kaduna, NDLEA operatives on patrol along Kaduna – Zaria expressway at Gwargwaje on Wednesday 21st May, intercepted 22-year-old Muhammad Hamza with 57,750 pills of tramadol and diazepam, while same day their counterparts in Bauchi arrested Usman Muhammad, 45, along Bauchi-Misau road with 80 blocks of skunk weighing 45kg.
“Similarly, operatives on stop-and-search operations along Potiskum–Damaturu road, Yobe state intercepted 55 parcels of Colorado, weighing 2kg, which a suspect Adum Muhammed, 29, was attempting to smuggle into the Republic of Chad through Ngamboru Ngala border town in Borno State.
“In Niger state, NDLEA operatives on patrol along Mokwa-Jebba road on Thursday 22nd May intercepted a Mercedes Benz car marked FST 938 FU loaded with 235 blocks of compressed cannabis sativa weighing 97kg and arrested a suspect, Adams Ayibakro.
“This is even as operatives in Lagos raided the Osapa London area of Lekki where they arrested a suspect Jonathan Isa with different quantities of Cocaine, Methamphetamine, Molly, Rohypnol, Codeine, Cannabis and Nitrous Oxide while another raid at Idasun, Eleko, Ibeju Lekki on Saturday 24th May led to the arrest of Olamilekan Idowu and seizure of 48kg skunk.”
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