By Micah Jonah, February 22, 2026
Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency have uncovered dramatic attempts to smuggle illicit drugs through the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport in Kano and the Seme land border in Lagos, arresting multiple suspects including a real estate chief executive, a 68 year old grandmother.
A 35 year old Kano based businesswoman, Rabi Muhammad, was intercepted at the Seme border on February 16 while attempting to cross into Cotonou, Benin Republic. Officers discovered that her apparent pregnancy was fake. A pink coloured calabash strapped to her stomach concealed 3,200 capsules of tramadol intended for sale abroad.
On the same day at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, NDLEA officers intercepted a 41 year old Ivorian national, Michael Gohouri, also known as Anunwa Onyinye Michael, during passenger clearance for an Ethiopian Airlines flight to Milan via Addis Ababa. A body scan confirmed he had ingested illicit substances. Under observation, he excreted 82 wraps of cocaine weighing 1.49 kilograms. He was reportedly promised 5,000 Euros upon successful delivery of the drugs in Milan.
In Lagos, NDLEA operatives arrested the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Trans Fortress Global Resources, Kolapo Oladapo Raji, at his residence in Ikate, Lekki. The 57 year old had been on the agency’s watchlist since 2025. A search of his apartment led to the recovery of 89.20 kilograms of Canadian Loud, a potent strain of cannabis, as well as a 2024 Toyota Hilux vehicle. He allegedly admitted financing drug consignments before establishing his own distribution network.
Further operations across Lagos led to the arrest of suspects in Agbara and Oshodi with a combined 132 kilograms of skunk. At the Port Harcourt Ports Complex in Onne, Rivers State, a joint examination by NDLEA, Customs and other security agencies uncovered 170,900 bottles of codeine based syrup concealed in a container shipment.
In Kogi State, 7,300 pills of tramadol were discovered hidden inside sound systems during a highway patrol along the Okene Lokoja road. Two suspects were later apprehended in Abuja in connection with the consignment.
Ondo State operatives arrested suspects in Iju forest with a total of 393 kilograms of skunk and seeds, while in Bauchi State, officers seized 936 kilograms of skunk in Azare town and made multiple arrests.
In Delta State, 37 kilograms of skunk were recovered from a suspect in Ughelli, while Edo State operatives destroyed over 1,266 kilograms of cannabis farms in Owan West Local Government Area and arrested two suspects, including a 68 year old grandmother.
The Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA, Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa, commended officers across the various commands for their operational successes and reiterated the agency’s commitment to balancing drug supply reduction with demand reduction efforts through its War Against Drug Abuse sensitisation campaigns nationwide.
The agency said its nationwide crackdown underscores its intensified efforts to dismantle drug trafficking networks, curb substance abuse across the country.
