The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has intercepted Captagon pills and more than 3.9 million opioid tablets with a combined estimated street value exceeding ₦6.2 billion at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.
According to Naija News, citing an official NDLEA statement issued on Sunday, August 30, 2026, the drugs were recovered during separate intelligence-led operations at the airport and other locations across the country.
Captagon Concealed Inside Bathing Soap
The agency said it arrested a 49-year-old suspected cross-border drug trafficker, Akinbile Kazeem Aikins, on Saturday, August 22, after he arrived in Lagos from Accra, Ghana.
A search of a carton containing locally produced bathing soap, popularly called “Ghana Soap,” allegedly uncovered 47,200 Captagon pills concealed inside the blocks.
NDLEA valued the seized amphetamine tablets at more than ₦1.5 billion. The agency said Aikins claimed that he was expected to deliver the consignment in northern Nigeria.
Captagon is commonly described as the “Jihadi drug” because of reported links to extremist activities and financing in conflict zones. NDLEA said its first interception of the substance in Nigeria occurred at the Apapa Port in September 2021.
3.9 Million Opioid Tablets Recovered
In another operation, NDLEA officers recovered 3,900,030 tablets of Tramaking 225mg and Tapentadol 250mg from four abandoned consignments at the airport’s import shed.
The consignments had a combined weight of 2,787.40 kilogrammes and an estimated street value exceeding ₦4.6 billion.
Three shipments containing 900,000 Tramaking tablets reportedly arrived from Bangladesh, while the fourth contained 3,000,030 Tapentadol tablets transported from Amsterdam.
The agency said the shipments were placed under surveillance after no importer or recipient came forward to claim them.
They were eventually retrieved on Friday, August 28, following a joint examination involving NDLEA officers, the Nigeria Customs Service and other relevant agencies.
US Returnee Arrested in Lekki
NDLEA also arrested a 31-year-old United States returnee, Sowunmi David Oludotun, in the Ikate area of Lekki on August 19.
He was allegedly arrested while attempting to collect 3.350 kilogrammes of “Loud,” described by the agency as a potent cannabis variety imported from the United Kingdom.
Cocaine, Heroin Recovered From Iron Safe
In Rivers State, NDLEA operatives raided a suspected drug den in the Abuja Down/Up area of Port Harcourt and recovered a fireproof iron safe.
When the safe was forced open with a welding machine on August 25, officers reportedly recovered 237 grammes of Colorado cannabis, 316 grammes of cocaine and 10 grammes of heroin.
Over One Tonne of Cannabis Seized in Ondo
In Ondo State, three suspects—Oyedele Daniel, Taye Saliu and Kehinde Saliu—were arrested along the Ipele–Idoani Road with 728 kilogrammes of skunk allegedly concealed in a truck.
Two other suspects, Uche Joseph and Godwin Umeh, were arrested at Aponmu Forest with another 341 kilogrammes of the substance.
NDLEA also reported the recovery of more than 176,000 assorted opioid pills during separate operations in Delta State between August 26 and 28.
Marwa Commends Operatives
NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), commended officers involved in the Lagos, Ondo and Delta operations.
Marwa directed personnel to sustain pressure on trafficking networks and maintain the agency’s approach of combining enforcement with drug-abuse prevention, advocacy and public enlightenment.
The individuals named in connection with the seizures remain suspects. The allegations against them have not been determined by a court, and they are entitled to the presumption of innocence until proven guilty.
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