NDLEA intercepts illicit drug shipments bound for US, Saudi Arabia, Italy, Poland
Abdullateef Fowewe
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has successfully intercepted multiple drug consignments destined for the United States, Saudi Arabia, Poland, Italy, and the United Arab Emirates.
The confiscated drugs, which include cocaine, tramadol, loud, and molly, were cleverly concealed within everyday items such as prayer beads, board game packs, and women’s clothing, in an apparent attempt to evade detection.
Dailyeconomy obtained this in a statement shared on the agency’s website on Sunday.
It says, “Desperate bids by some drug trafficking organisations (DTO) to move illicit consignments such as Cocaine, Tramadol, Loud, Molly and others concealed in prayer beads, packs of board games, female cloths to the United States of America, Saudi Arabia, Italy, Poland, and United Arab Emirates through logistics firms and the Lagos airport have been thwarted by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA.
“At least, two suspects behind some of the aborted missions at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, MMIA, Ikeja Lagos have already been arrested. One of them is a 43-year-old businesswoman, Jakpor Egware May who was nabbed at the Gate ‘C’ departure hall of the Lagos airport while attempting to board an Air France flight to Italy on Saturday 8th March 2025.
“When she was searched, 190 parcels of tramadol 225mg and another parcel of skunk, a strain of cannabis, were recovered from her luggage. In her statement, she claimed that she bought the drugs herself, with the intention to resell them in Italy.
“At the export shed of the Lagos airport, NDLEA officers on Tuesday 11th March arrested a 60-year-old suspect, Yahaya Fatai Ayinla, while attempting to ship a cargo containing cloths used to conceal 400grams of skunk going to New York, United States of America.
“At some logistics companies in Lagos, efforts by drug traffickers to export over two kilograms of Loud, Molly, Tramadol 365mg, 225mg hidden in Vitamin C bottles and female cloths to the US were frustrated by NDLEA operatives of the Directorate of Operations and General Investigation, DOGI. Other shipments of 230grams of cocaine concealed in prayer beads, soles of locally made shoes and packs of board games heading to Saudi Arabia, Poland and UAE were equally intercepted between Monday 10th and Wednesday 12th March.
“In Kano, a total of 727 blocks of compressed skunk weighing 479kg were recovered from a 40-year-old suspect Hassan Haruna who was arrested by NDLEA operatives at Chalawa area of the state on Wednesday 12th March, while no fewer than 58,300 pills of tramadol were intercepted along Kabba-Obajana highway, Kogi state in a commercial bus coming from Lagos enroute Abuja on Tuesday 11th March.”
