By Emmanuel Onyedika
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intercepted consignments of Captagon, popularly known as the “Jihadi drug”, alongside millions of opioid pills valued at over ₦6.2 billion at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos.
According to NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi, the seizure took place on Saturday, August 22, 2026, following the arrest of Akinbile Kazeem Aikins, a 49-year-old cross-border kingpin who arrived from Accra, Ghana. A search of his carton of “Ghana Soap” revealed 47,200 pills of Captagon, concealed within blocks of soap, worth over ₦1.5 billion.
Captagon, often linked to extremist financing in conflict zones, was first intercepted in Nigeria in September 2021 at the Apapa Port, Lagos.
In another operation at MMIA, NDLEA recovered 3,900,030 tablets of Tramaking (225mg) and Tapentadol (250mg), weighing 2,787.40kg and valued at over ₦4.6 billion, from four abandoned consignments. Three shipments arrived via RwandAir from Bangladesh, while the fourth came on Qatar Airways from Amsterdam.
Additionally, NDLEA operatives arrested Sowunmi David Oludotun, a 31-year-old US returnee, on August 19 in Lekki, Lagos, after he attempted to take delivery of 3.35kg of Loud, a synthetic cannabis strain imported from the UK.
The agency said the seizures underscore its intensified crackdown on cross-border drug trafficking and its commitment to dismantling networks fueling illicit trade in Nigeria.