Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have foiled two international drug trafficking attempts, intercepting cocaine concealed in a local mortar and in the false bottom of a backpack at a logistics company in Lagos.
The seizures, made on Thursday, July 30, 2026, by officers of the Directorate of Operations and General Investigations (DOGI), included 250 grams of cocaine fitted into the base of a wooden mortar packed for export to China, and 500 grams of the same substance hidden in a backpack destined for Italy.
In Rivers State, operatives arrested 38-year-old Ugo Gift Okonkwo, a notorious drug dealer, at Eagle Island, Port Harcourt, on Sunday, July 26, following credible intelligence.
He was found with cannabis, cocaine, methamphetamine, Swinol, tramadol and codeine syrup.
In Anambra State, a stop-and-search operation at the DMGS Roundabout, Onitsha, on Monday, July 27, led to the interception of a truck (XK 131 BDG) carrying 26,000 bottles of codeine syrup weighing 3,960kg.
The driver, 40-year-old Chinedu Nwanze, was arrested.
Other seizures during the week included 331.84kg of skunk recovered from a Toyota Sienna bus (KUJ 26 DV) along the Kwale/Ughelli Expressway in Delta State on July 26, and 68kg of skunk, plus 29 grams of methamphetamine, recovered from 64-year-old Joseph Nwaeke, who was arrested in Karu, Nasarawa State, on July 28.
In Zamfara State, NDLEA operatives patrolling the Zaria-Gusau highway on July 27 intercepted 27-year-old Sani Umar with 7,400 tablets of tramadol 225mg, suspected to be supplies for bandits.
Alongside enforcement operations, NDLEA commands nationwide continued War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation drives in schools, places of worship, workplaces and communities, including outreach programmes at Hausawa Special Primary School, Kano; Royal Crown School, Ibadan; Government Secondary School, Ibi, Taraba State; and Challenge Bus Terminal Park, Ibadan.
NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Marwa (rtd), commended officers of DOGI and the Rivers, Anambra, Delta, Nasarawa and Zamfara commands, urging continued commitment to the agency’s balanced approach to drug control.
(The Sun)
