NDLEA Seizes N6.2bn Worth Of Drugs Hidden In Ghana Soap

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intercepted consignments of captagon, popularly known as “Jihadi drug,” and millions of opioid tablets worth over N6.2 billion at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos.

The agency also arrested a suspected cross-border drug kingpin and recovered cocaine, heroin and other illicit drugs during separate operations across Lagos, Rivers, Ondo and Delta states.

According to a statement issued on Sunday by NDLEA Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, operatives arrested 49-year-old Akinbile Kazeem Aikins on Saturday, August 22, 2026, after he arrived in Lagos from Accra, Ghana, aboard an African World Airlines flight.

A search of his carton containing local bathing soap, popularly known as “Ghana Soap,” allegedly led to the discovery of 47,200 pills of captagon concealed inside blocks of soap.

The consignment was valued at over N1.5 billion.

Captagon, an amphetamine-type stimulant, has been dubbed the “Jihadi drug” because of its reported use and association with militant activities in conflict zones.

The NDLEA said the drug was first intercepted in Nigeria by its operatives in September 2021 at the Apapa Port in Lagos.

Following his arrest, Aikins allegedly told investigators that he was expected to deliver the consignment in northern Nigeria.

In a separate operation at the Lagos airport, NDLEA operatives recovered 3,900,030 tablets of Tramaking 225mg and Tapentadol 250mg weighing 2,787.40 kilogrammes and valued at more than N4.6 billion.

The drugs were recovered from four abandoned consignments at the import shed of the MMIA after no one showed up to claim them.

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 aboard Qatar Airways from Amsterdam.

The agency said the consignments had been placed under surveillance before being formally retrieved on Friday, August 28, following a joint examination involving NDLEA officers, the Nigeria Customs Service and other stakeholders.

Meanwhile, NDLEA operatives arrested a 31-year-old US returnee, Sowunmi David Oludotun, on August 19 in the Ikate area of Lekki, Lagos, while allegedly attempting to take delivery of 3.350kg of Loud, a potent synthetic strain of cannabis imported from the United Kingdom.

In Rivers State, the agency raided the notorious Abuja Down/Up area of Port Harcourt, where operatives recovered a fireproof iron safe among other items.

The safe was reportedly opened with a welding machine on Tuesday, August 25, leading to the recovery of 237 grammes of Colorado, 316 grammes of cocaine and 10 grammes 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.

The suspects were allegedly caught transporting the cannabis in a truck marked KRE 120 XB.

Two other suspects, Uche Joseph, 35, and Godwin Umeh, 21, were arrested at Aponmu Forest on Wednesday, August 26, with 341kg of skunk.

In Delta State, NDLEA operatives also recovered more than 176,000 tablets of assorted opioids, including tramadol and Molly, during two separate interdiction operations conducted between August 26 and 28.

The agency said its commands and formations across the country also sustained its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation campaigns during the week.

The campaigns targeted schools, worship centres, workplaces and communities, with activities held in Gombe, Kano, Edo, Ondo and Taraba states.

The NDLEA said the Ondo State Command paid a WADA advocacy visit to Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa, while the Taraba Command visited Governor Agbu Kefas.
Reacting to the seizures, NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), commended officers involved in the operations and directed them to sustain the agency’s “balanced approach” to drug control.

Marwa also urged personnel to maintain the pressure on drug traffickers who continue to devise new methods of concealing and transporting illicit substances, including hiding drugs in everyday household items such as soap.