NDLEA busts drug smuggling rings in Kano, Lagos
— Indian woman, others arrested as heroin, tramadol, cocaine seized
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a 42-year-old Indian woman, Ms. Neetu Neetu, at Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport (MAKIA) for attempting to smuggle 72 parcels of heroin disguised as chocolates into Nigeria. The illicit substance, weighing 11 kilograms, was discovered in her luggage during an inward clearance of a Qatar Airways flight from Bangkok, Thailand, via Vietnam and Doha.
According to a statement by the NDLEA on Sunday, operatives acted on credible intelligence and conducted a thorough search, leading to the seizure at the airport’s arrival hall on March 14, 2025. NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), described the arrest as part of a growing trend where drug traffickers recruit foreign nationals to smuggle narcotics through Nigerian borders.
In another major operation in Kano, NDLEA operatives arrested a 45-year-old suspect, Michael Ogundele, on March 20, 2025, with a 50-litre steel gas cylinder filled with 50,000 tramadol 225mg pills. The pills were carefully concealed inside the cylinder and had to be extracted using welding tools. Similarly, on March 19, officers apprehended 40-year-old Sunday Ogar in Gunduwawa with 27kg of skunk, a potent strain of cannabis.
On March 18, a female suspect, Khadijah Abdullahi, was arrested at Lungun Bulala Yalwa in Kano with 424 bottles of codeine-based syrup. Meanwhile, in Lagos, NDLEA operatives arrested Olumuyiwa Kolawole and Samod Adisa in Mushin with 67.5kg of skunk, while another 100.8kg of the same substance was recovered from a store in Anifowoshe, belonging to two fleeing suspects.
The agency also intercepted a drug syndicate in Apapa, where officers arrested Isah Idris with 4.5kg of skunk, 600 grams of tramadol 225mg, and 30 liters of codeine syrup. On the same day, another suspect, Yahaya Mohamed, was arrested in Ikotun with various quantities of cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine, further demonstrating NDLEA’s crackdown on drug trafficking networks.
Beyond enforcement, NDLEA continued its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) campaign, sensitizing students and workers across the country. Recent awareness programs were held at Chrisland School, Ikeja (Lagos), Hakimi Secondary School (Niger), Marist Comprehensive College (Anambra), Ikole City College (Ekiti), and Government Day Secondary Schools in Sokoto and Adamawa states.
Brig. Gen. Marwa commended NDLEA officers in Kano and Lagos for their dedication, noting that the agency remains committed to balancing enforcement with public education. He emphasized that NDLEA would continue using advanced technology and intelligence to disrupt drug trafficking networks and prevent illicit substances from circulating in the country.
The NDLEA chief urged officers to remain vigilant and relentless in their efforts, assuring Nigerians that the agency would not relent in the fight against drug abuse and trafficking.
