Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have intercepted cocaine consignments concealed in a locally made mortar and the false bottom of a backpack, thwarting attempts to ship the illicit drugs to China and Italy through a Lagos logistics company.
The agency said the seizures were made on Thursday, July 30, 2026, by officers of its Directorate of Operations and General Investigations (DOGI). According to the NDLEA, 250 grammes of cocaine were hidden inside the base of a locally made mortar destined for China, while another 500 grammes were discovered in a specially constructed compartment beneath a backpack intended for Italy.
The latest interceptions formed part of a series of intelligence-led operations carried out across several states as the anti-narcotics agency intensified its crackdown on drug trafficking networks.
In Rivers State, NDLEA operatives arrested Ugo Gift Okonkwo, 38, at Eagle Island in Port Harcourt after acting on intelligence. The agency said the suspect was apprehended on July 26 with quantities of cannabis, cocaine, methamphetamine, Swinol, tramadol and codeine syrup.
A separate operation in Anambra State led to one of the week’s largest seizures. Officers conducting a stop-and-search exercise at the DMGS Roundabout in Onitsha intercepted a truck carrying 26,000 bottles of codeine syrup, weighing about 3,960 kilogrammes. The truck driver, Chinedu Nwanze, 40, was arrested in connection with the consignment.
In Delta State, operatives recovered 1.84 kilogrammes of skunk from a Toyota Sienna bus along the Kwale-Ughelli Expressway on July 26, while in neighbouring Nasarawa State, officers arrested Joseph Nwaeke, 64, at Asso Angwan Muazu in Karu. The suspect was allegedly found in possession of 68 kilogrammes of skunk and 29 grammes of methamphetamine.
The agency also recorded another arrest in Zamfara State, where patrol officers along the Zaria-Gusau Highway intercepted Sani Umar, 27, allegedly transporting 7,400 tablets of 225mg tramadol. According to the NDLEA, investigators suspect the drugs were being conveyed for supply to criminal elements.
Beyond enforcement operations, the agency said it continued its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) advocacy campaign through sensitisation programmes held in schools, workplaces, places of worship and communities across the country. The campaign reached students and staff of Hausawa Special Primary School in Kano, Royal Crown School in Ibadan, Government Secondary School in Ibi, Taraba State, as well as commercial drivers at the Challenge Bus Terminal in Ibadan.
NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig.-Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), commended officers of the Directorate of Operations and General Investigations and commands in Rivers, Anambra, Delta, Nasarawa and Zamfara states for the successful operations. He urged them to sustain the agency’s twin strategy of reducing both the supply of and demand for illicit drugs across Nigeria.
