NDLEA Cracks Down on Drug Trafficking, Uncovers Captagon Consignment in Kwara

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intercepted a consignment of the terror-linked drug known as captagon in Kwara State.

This was disclosed in a statement issued on Sunday in Abuja by the agency’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Mr. Femi Babafemi.
Babafemi noted that the interception comes nearly five years after the agency recorded the first seizure of the dangerous drug in Africa at the Apapa seaport in Lagos.
He explained that captagon is a small but highly addictive pill commonly found in the Middle East. It induces intense euphoria, enabling users to stay awake for long periods while making them unusually fearless and prone to reckless behavior that can endanger others.
According to him, the drug is often produced and distributed by militias and criminal groups linked to ISIS, serving both as a funding source for weapons and as a stimulant for fighters.
Babafemi said the latest seizure, where each pill can cost up to 25 dollars on the street, took place on Tuesday, April 21. NDLEA operatives on patrol along the Bode Saadu road in Kwara intercepted a passenger-laden trailer.
“A search of one of the passengers, a 33-year-old man, led to the recovery of 10 packs of captagon containing 10,000 pills, along with nine packets of Tapentadol 250mg,” he stated.
He further revealed that in a separate operation on Friday, April 24, NDLEA officers at the same patrol point intercepted another trailer marked RMY-70XA. A search uncovered 155,900 capsules of tramadol, 6,000 ampoules of tramadol injection, 3,000 tablets of co-codamol, and 9,000 tablets of bromazepam concealed in a specially constructed compartment. A 24-year-old suspect was arrested in connection with the seizure.
In Oyo State, Babafemi said operatives also intercepted a commercial bus on April 21 along the Ibadan/Oyo expressway heading to Sokoto. A 33-year-old passenger was taken for a body scan, which confirmed he had ingested illicit drugs.
The suspect, who claimed to be a businessman, was placed under observation and later excreted 45 pellets of cocaine weighing 1.043 kilogrammes over three excretions.
He explained that the suspect chose to travel by road to avoid airport detection and intended to continue the journey via trans-Saharan routes through Algeria to Europe.
In another development, NDLEA officers intercepted a truck along the Benin/Lagos expressway on April 25, carrying 1,196,000 pills of pharmaceutical opioids. Two suspects were arrested, and the consignment was reportedly heading to Onitsha.
Babafemi added that a suspect was also apprehended at Mile 2 Expressway in Lagos while transporting 810 kilogrammes of a cannabis strain known as Arizona.
Similarly, in Bauchi State, a suspect was arrested with 288 blocks of skunk weighing 154.5kg, while in Ekiti State, 466.8kg of skunk was recovered from a suspect’s residence.
He further disclosed that NDLEA operatives, supported by soldiers, destroyed 20,000 kilogrammes of cannabis on eight hectares of farmland in Uyanga community, Cross River State, recovering an additional 170kg of processed cannabis.
In a related operation, 394 components of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) were seized from a suspect along the Kontagora/Zuru road in Niger State. The suspect was transporting the materials in a red Toyota vehicle to Mariga Local Government Area.
Babafemi said the suspect and the recovered items would be handed over to the appropriate security agency for further investigation.