NDLEA busts massive tramadol shipment of almost N4bn at Lagos Airport

Abdullateef Fowewe

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested an Indian businessman and three Nigerians connected to a huge seizure of 2,248,000 tramadol pills at Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.

According to Femi Babafemi, NDLEA’s Director of Media & Advocacy, the pills were imported disguised as multi-vitamins in 114 cartons on a flight from Delhi, India.

Babafemi stated, “An Indian businessman Gupta Ravi Kumar and three Nigerian accomplices…have been arrested by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) in connection with the seizure of Two Million Two Hundred and Forty-Eight Thousand (2,248,000) pills of tramadol 200mg/225mg intercepted at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) Ikeja Lagos.”

The illicit shipment, with a street value of approximately Three Billion Nine Hundred and Ninety Million Naira (₦3.99 billion), was discovered when NDLEA officers placed the consignment under surveillance.

The drugs were intercepted as they were being moved out of the airport in two trucks by a clearing agent and two drivers on September 11, 2025. The following day, the Indian businessman Gupta Ravi Kumar was apprehended while attempting to take delivery.

Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), praised the teams involved, saying, “I enjoin them and their colleagues across the country to continue with the ongoing balanced approach to the drug control efforts of the Agency.”

The successful operation involved multiple NDLEA commands across Nigeria including Lagos, Oyo, Edo, Kano, FCT, Anambra, Yobe, and Ogun.