The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has dismantled a major opioids cartel in Lagos, Nigeria, after an intelligence‑led operation. Operatives arrested a drug baron and five members of his gang and recovered illicit substances worth over N6.7 billion from a secret warehouse in a residential estate.
According to Femi Babafemi, the NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy, credible intelligence indicated that the drug‑trafficking organization (DTO) was distributing large quantities of tramadol and codeine syrup. The drugs, valued at N3.9 billion and N2.8 billion respectively, were stored in a residential compound in the Isheri area of Lagos State ahead of the Christmas festive season.
NDLEA operatives, led by a Special Operations Unit, carried out a coordinated raid between 19 and 20 November. They first arrested two DTO members at Apple Junction, Festac area, who were transporting 300 cartons of opioids in a truck. A follow‑up operation at the syndicate’s warehouse resulted in the arrest of additional members and the seizure of 7,272,000 tramadol 225 mg pills and 53 million millilitres of codeine syrup. The recovered drugs were moved out of the estate in eleven trucks to the NDLEA’s central exhibit complex in Lagos.
The agency’s Chairman, retired Brig‑Gen. Buba Marwa, praised the operatives, calling the breakthrough a major blow to cartels preying on Nigeria’s youth. He emphasized that the seized drugs could have fueled addiction, crime and insecurity nationwide, and hailed the operation as a victory for the Nigerian people and a confirmation of the agency’s commitment to its mandate.
The NDLEA remains focused on the kingpins and financiers of the illicit drug trade. Marwa asserted that the days of drug barons believing they are untouchable are over, and that the law will eventually catch up with every “merchant of death,” no matter how deeply concealed. The agency’s efforts to combat drug trafficking and addiction continue, with a renewed commitment to protecting Nigerian youth and communities from the devastating effects of illicit drugs.
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