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Cross-Border Drug Trafficking Ring Exposed as NDLEA intercepts Vehicles with Hidden Drugs

Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have dismantled a trans-border drug trafficking syndicate, arresting four key members in a series of intelligence-led operations. The agency seized multi-million-naira worth of tramadol pills, cleverly concealed in the bumpers and false compartments of Sienna buses bound for border towns.

Following weeks of surveillance by the NDLEA Directorate of Intelligence, operatives intercepted a Sienna bus (ABJ 452 HG) at Nasarawa-Toto road, Keffi, Nasarawa State, at 6 a.m. on January 27, 2025. Two suspects, Zahradeen Adamu, 27, and Abubakar Usman, 44, were apprehended in the vehicle traveling from Onitsha, Anambra State, to Yola, Adamawa State. A second Sienna bus, driven by 48-year-old Abba Usman, was also stopped. Upon searching the vehicles, officers discovered specially constructed steel compartments behind the back bumpers and in the spare tire spaces, concealing a total of 190,960 tramadol pills. Investigations traced the consignment’s supplier to Kingsley Mbaeri, an Onitsha-based dealer. A follow-up operation on January 29 led to Mbaeri’s arrest at his residence on Uga Street, Onitsha, where officers also seized two vehicles: a Toyota Corolla (FGG 948 MF) and a Toyota Sienna (GWA 23 HH).

In a separate operation on February 4, NDLEA operatives at Abaji checkpoint, FCT, intercepted a commercial bus from Onitsha. A passenger, Chimezie Henry Ojingwa, 32, was arrested after officers found 404.47 grams of methamphetamine, 506.49 grams of Loud (synthetic cannabis), and 262.32 grams of dimethyl sulfone (a meth precursor) hidden inside motor spare parts in his black bag. Similarly, on February 13, NDLEA operatives in Cross River intercepted a truck along Ogoja-Abakaliki road, Yahe, seizing 170,000 tramadol pills and arresting the driver, Paul Chukwudi, 31. In Lagos, a major drug seizure occurred on February 11 at the Apapa seaport, where operatives recovered 85,400 bottles of codeine-based syrup from a container imported from India. Meanwhile, on February 15, operatives raided the Lekki residence of Samiat Olabisi Yussuf, 28, confiscating 169.5 liters of nitrous oxide (laughing gas) and 111 grams of Loud.


In Borno State, NDLEA officers arrested Halilu Isa and Gambo Umaru on February 14 along Bama Road, Maiduguri, seizing 60 compressed blocks of skunk (72kg). In Ekiti State, a raid on February 11 at a notorious drug joint on Iloda Street, Ikole-Ekiti, led to the arrest of Bala Muhammed, 57; Yahaya Adamu, 55; and Abdullahi Shehu, 30, with 83kg of skunk recovered. Further operations in Taraba on February 15 resulted in the seizure of 132.84kg of skunk. Ibrahim Usman, 40, was found with 88kg of Arizona and Ghana Loud at Wukari, while Solomon James, 40, was caught with 44.84kg of the same substance in Takanaba, Sabongari, Jalingo LGA.

Beyond enforcement, the NDLEA intensified its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitization programs across the country. Officers held lectures at multiple schools, workplaces, and religious centers, including Government Technical College, Oku, Akwa Ibom; Future Leaders Academy, Kishi, Oyo State; Jesuit College, Agbado Ekiti, Ekiti State; and Markaz Umar Bn Khattab Centre, Kano, where they addressed married women in purdah.


NDLEA Chairman/CEO Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd) praised the operatives for their dedication, particularly those from the Directorate of Intelligence, Apapa, Cross River, Borno, Ekiti, Taraba, and Lagos Commands. He also lauded their efforts in expanding WADA sensitization lectures to communities across the country. The agency remains committed to disrupting drug networks and preventing illicit substances from reaching Nigerian communities.

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