LAGOS — Two suspected drug kingpins were arrested in Lagos after operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) intercepted consignments of cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine prepared for export to Europe, the agency said Sunday.
The NDLEA said its Special Operations Unit picked up the suspects, identified as 64-year-old Victor Nwosa and 49-year-old Felix Chika Obiegbu, following weeks of surveillance.
“While Nwosa parades himself as a textile merchant and Obiegbu as a wine distributor, investigations revealed their involvement in illicit drug trafficking,” the agency said.
According to the NDLEA, officers arrested Nwosa on Sept. 17 at his home in Okota, Lagos, where 4.33 kilograms of heroin and 448 grams of cocaine were recovered. Obiegbu was arrested on Sept. 11 in Surulere with 2.9 kilograms of methamphetamine.
The agency also reported several arrests targeting traffickers linked to terrorist and bandit groups in Nigeria’s northeast. On Sept. 26, officers in Borno state stopped a Mercedes Benz jeep at Njimtilo village and recovered 39,380 pills of tramadol and exol-5 hidden in the engine compartment. The driver, identified as 26-year-old Baba Kaka Ibrahim, was taken into custody.
The following day, NDLEA officers in Yobe arrested 26-year-old Halima Adamu with 39 parcels of Colorado, a synthetic cannabis strain, concealed in her travel bag. A follow-up operation led to the arrest of another woman, Habiba Muhammad, in Maiduguri.
In other operations, NDLEA reported seizures across Kano, Bayelsa, Ekiti, Kaduna, Lagos, Abuja, Gombe and Edo states. Among them was the arrest of ex-convict Femi Owoeye in Ekiti with 32 kilograms of cannabis and tramadol, and the destruction of over 24,000 kilograms of cannabis farms in Edo forests.
In Kaduna, officers arrested a suspect with 262 kilograms of cannabis at the Abuja-Kaduna tollgate, while another man was found with methamphetamine in Gwantu, with a follow-up arrest in Gombe. In Lagos, three men were detained with more than 85,000 opioid pills, while in Abuja, a suspect was caught with 2.1 kilograms of Colorado.
NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (ret.), praised the operatives for the coordinated nationwide raids.
“The success of the various operations across the country underscores our commitment to safeguarding Nigeria from illicit substances that threaten public health and national security,” Marwa said. “Every gram of these dangerous drugs we seize and remove from our streets and communities reinforces our determination to protect our youths, disrupt criminal networks, and strengthen national security.”
The operations, part of the agency’s War Against Drug Abuse campaign, also included sensitization programs in schools, religious centers and workplaces nationwide.
