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NDLEA intercepts N6.2 billion in drugs, including "Jihadi drug" and opioids, at Lagos airport
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency intercepted consignments of Captagon, known as the "Jihadi drug," and millions of opioid tablets valued at over N6.2 billion at Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos. On August 22, 2026, NDLEA operatives arrested Akinbile Kazeem Aikins, a 49-year-old cross-border drug kingpin, who arrived from Accra, Ghana. A search of his "Ghana Soap" carton revealed 47,200 pills of Captagon, an amphetamine drug worth over N1.5 billion, concealed within the soap blocks. Captagon was previously intercepted in Nigeria in September 2021. In a separate operation at the Lagos airport, 3,900,030 tablets of Tramaking 225mg and Tapentadol 250mg, with a combined weight of 2,787.40kg and an estimated street value exceeding N4.6 billion, were recovered from four abandoned consignments. These consignments, which arrived from Bangladesh and Amsterdam, were formally retrieved on August 28 following a joint examination by NDLEA, Nigeria Customs Service, and other stakeholders. Additionally, on August 19, Sowunmi David Oludotun, a 31-year-old returnee from the United States, was arrested in Ikate, Lekki, Lagos, for allegedly attempting to take delivery of 3.350kg of Loud, a synthetic cannabis strain from the United Kingdom. Other operations included the recovery of various illicit drugs from a safe in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, on August 25, and the arrest of five suspects with 728kg and 341kg of skunk in Ondo State on August 28 and 26, respectively. In D
