By Stephen Simon
Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have intercepted over N6.2 billion worth of illicit drugs at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) in Lagos, including a rare seizure of Captagon—popularly known as the “Jihadi drug”—concealed inside household soap.
The operation led to the arrest of 49-year-old cross-border suspect Akinbile Kazeem Aikins on Saturday, August 22, 2026, shortly after his arrival from Accra, Ghana, aboard an Africa World Airlines flight.
During a search of his luggage, NDLEA officers uncovered 47,200 Captagon pills valued at over N1.5 billion hidden inside blocks of local “Ghana Soap.” During interrogation, Aikins confessed to investigators that the illicit consignment was destined for distribution in northern Nigeria. The bust marks the agency’s first major interception of Captagon since its initial seizure at the Apapa Port in September 2021.
In another major operation at the airport’s import shed on Friday, August 28, NDLEA operatives, working in a joint inspection with the Nigeria Customs Service, recovered four unclaimed shipments containing 3,900,030 tablets of high-potency opioids—specifically Tramaking 225mg and Tapentadol 250mg—weighing 2,787.40kg.
The drugs, valued at over N4.6 billion, arrived in the country via RwandAir from Bangladesh and Qatar Airways from Amsterdam.
Earlier on August 19, NDLEA officers arrested a 31-year-old United States returnee, Sowunmi David Oludotun, in the Lekki area of Lagos. Oludotun was intercepted while attempting to collect a package containing 3.35kg of “Loud”—a synthetic strain of cannabis—imported from the United Kingdom.
Nationwide interdiction efforts across other state commands yielded additional seizures:
Rivers State: Operatives raided a drug den at Abuja Down/Up in Port Harcourt on August 25, breaking open a fireproof safe to recover 316g of cocaine, 237g of Colorado, and 10g of heroin.
Ondo State: Five suspects were apprehended between August 26 and 28 with 1,069kg of skunk.
Delta State: Operatives seized over 176,000 opioid pills across multiple tactical operations.
Commending the officers for the operational breakthroughs, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd), charged the agency’s tactical teams to sustain relentless pressure on drug cartels, noting that traffickers are increasingly resorting to deceptive concealment methods involving everyday household items.
