In one of the Agency’s most sweeping offensives in recent times, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has dismantled at least six drug trafficking syndicates across the country, recovering tons of assorted illicit substances and arresting nine key figures behind the criminal networks.
A statement explained that the operations, executed through coordinated, intelligence-led interdictions, mark a significant escalation in the Agency’s war against drug cartels ahead of the festive season.
In Anambra State, NDLEA operatives on Tuesday 18th November 2025 arrested two members of a transnational drug trafficking ring—30-year-old Ebulue Lotanwa Uzochukwu and 51-year-old South Africa returnee, Christopher Michael Ndibuisi. The duo were apprehended when they attempted to collect a consignment traced to them at a logistics company in Onitsha.
The package, concealed in pressure machine cylinders imported from South Africa, contained 5.40kg of methamphetamine, 10.70kg of Loud, 16g of cocaine, 200g each of phenacetin and methcathinone, and 100g of caffeine.
The items had earlier arrived the MMIA import shed on 13th November aboard a Tag-Angola flight and were intercepted following credible intelligence, leading to the subsequent sting operation in Onitsha.
At the Lagos airport, officers on Thursday 20th November intercepted an automobile brake servo stuffed with 48 pellets and a block of cocaine weighing 2.30kg and destined for Gabon. The freight agent, Ameh Solomon, who presented the shipment, was arrested, while a follow-up operation at the ASPMDA Market in the Trade Fair Complex led to the arrest of an auto parts dealer, Nwafor Tochukwu Boniface.
In Kogi State, NDLEA operatives on Monday 17th November stopped a trailer loaded with 4,700kg of skunk in Kabba.
Three escorts—Solomon Dauda, Friday Garba, and Daniel Danladi—were arrested. A continuation of the operation in Jos on Friday 21st November resulted in the capture of the principal suspect, Marcus Danladi Dan Mangu, believed to be the owner of both the trailer and the illicit cargo.
A major warehouse bust in Ugep, Cross River State, on Wednesday 19th November led to the arrest of a couple, 55-year-old Onun Okoi Okpotum and 52-year-old Itam Okoi Okpotum, where 362 jumbo bags of skunk weighing 4,706kg were recovered.
In Edo State, two young women—19-year-old Praise Nwogu and 25-year-old Ebong Emem Oghosa—were arrested in Benin City for manufacturing and selling drug-laced brownies online. A separate raid in Ososo, Akoko-Edo LGA on Tuesday 18th November yielded 59kg of skunk and the arrest of 35-year-old Shedrack Aminu.
Along the Enugu–Onitsha expressway, operatives on Wednesday 19th November intercepted 24-year-old Chinoso Emmanuel Monday with 10.1kg of skunk, 105,600 tramadol pills, 700 ampoules of pentazocine injection, and 3,000 rounds of live ammunition.
In Kebbi State, a warehouse in Dole-Kaina, Dandi LGA, was cleared of 13,155 bottles of codeine syrup, while a 23-year-old suspect, Umar Adamu, was caught trafficking 12,548 opioid pills disguised in paracetamol containers and allegedly headed for a Boko Haram enclave in Borno State.
Further operations across the FCT and neighbouring states led to the arrest of multiple traffickers. Two suspects—Anthony Mercy (40) and Sunday Augustine (39)—were arrested along the Abaji–Abuja expressway with 430.5kg of cannabis.
In Niger State, 47-year-old Samson Dafe was caught with 85,100 opioid pills and 5,456 bottles of codeine. A raid on a property in Anguwan Makera Kuta, Shiroro LGA, uncovered 437 blocks of compressed skunk weighing 471.8kg.
In Lagos, operatives arrested Usman Ayoola Adegoke over a 71kg seizure of Canadian Loud in Lekki, while one Oluchi Celestine was apprehended with 2.6kg of Colorado concealed in branded containers. A joint operation with military personnel at the notorious Peti drug hub on Lagos Island recovered 385kg of assorted illicit drugs. Another operation in Maza Maza yielded 163,200 capsules of tramadol 225mg.
