A suspected cross-border drug kingpin has been arrested, while more than N6.2 billion worth of captagon and opioid tablets have been intercepted in separate operations by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) in Lagos.
The suspected kingpin, 49-year-old Akinbile Kazeem Aikins, was arrested on Saturday, August 22, 2026, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, after arriving from Accra, Ghana, aboard an African World Airlines flight.
The NDLEA said a search of his carton of local bathing soap, popularly known as “Ghana Soap”, led to the recovery of 47,200 pills of captagon concealed inside blocks of soap.
The consignment was valued at more than N1.5 billion.
The agency’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, disclosed this in a statement on Sunday, adding that the suspect allegedly told investigators that the consignment was meant to be delivered in northern Nigeria.
Captagon, an illicit amphetamine drug, has been described as the “Jihadi drug” because of its reported use in funding extremist activities in conflict zones. The NDLEA first intercepted the drug in Nigeria in September 2021 at the Apapa Port in Lagos.
In another operation at the Lagos airport, NDLEA operatives recovered 3,900,030 tablets of Tramaking 225mg and Tapentadol 250mg, with a combined gross weight of 2,787.40kg and an estimated street value of more than N4.6 billion.
Babafemi said the drugs were recovered from four abandoned consignments at the import shed of the MMIA.
Three of the consignments contained 900,000 tablets of Tramaking, weighing 815.40kg, and arrived aboard RwandAir flights from Bangladesh.
The fourth consignment contained 3,000,030 tablets of Tapentadol, weighing 1,972kg, and arrived on Qatar Airways from Amsterdam.
He said the consignments had been placed under surveillance after no one showed up to claim them and were formally retrieved following a joint examination by NDLEA officers, the Nigeria Customs Service and other stakeholders on Friday, August 28.
Babafemi also disclosed that a 31-year-old United States returnee, Sowunmi David Oludotun, was arrested on August 19 at Ikate, Lekki, while allegedly attempting to take delivery of 3.350kg of Loud, a potent strain of cannabis imported from the United Kingdom.
In Rivers State, NDLEA operatives raided the Abuja Down/Up area of Port Harcourt, where they recovered a fireproof iron safe among other items.
Babafemi said the safe was opened with a welding machine on Tuesday, August 25, leading to the recovery of 237g of Colorado, 316g of cocaine and 10g of heroin.
In Ondo State, three suspects: Oyedele Daniel, 42; Taye Saliu, 36; and Kehinde Saliu, 36, were arrested on Friday, August 28, along the Ipele-Idoani Road with 728kg of skunk concealed in their truck marked KRE 120 XB.
Two other suspects, Uche Joseph, 35, and Godwin Umeh, 21, were also arrested at Aponmu Forest on Wednesday, August 26, with 341kg of skunk.
In Delta State, more than 176,000 pills of assorted opioids, including tramadol and Molly, were recovered in two separate interdiction operations conducted between Wednesday, August 26, and Friday, August 28.
Commending the officers and men of the MMIA, Ondo and Delta Commands for the successful operations, NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), urged personnel across the country to sustain the agency’s balanced approach to drug control.
Babafemi quoted Marwa as directing officers to maintain the momentum against drug traffickers who continue to devise new methods of concealing and moving illicit drugs.
“Traffickers are desperate to explore every means, including concealment in everyday household items like soap, to move their illicit consignments,” Marwa said.
He urged NDLEA personnel to remain vigilant and intensify intelligence-led operations against drug trafficking networks across the country.
