Nigeria's NDLEA seizes $12 bn of drugs, arrests China‑bound cocaine trafficker and hundreds of suspects

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) carried out a series of nationwide operations that resulted in the seizure of a 4,959‑kilogram shipment of Canadian‑origin cannabis valued at about N12.4 billion at Lagos’s Apapa Port. In a concurrent raid, 38‑year‑old businesswoman Iwebema Ogechi Peace was arrested at Murtala Muhammed International Airport while attempting to board a flight to Beijing with 7.5 kg of cocaine hidden in a false‑bottom suitcase.

Further interdictions included the recovery of 558,900 tramadol tablets concealed in a fabricated truck compartment, the capture of a syndicate that planted 467.7 g of methamphetamine in a passenger’s luggage on a bus from Nnewi to Abuja, and the arrest of several Benin nationals and Nigerian suspects transporting cannabis strains (Scottish and skunk) to various states. Over the past 18 months, NDLEA officials reported seizing more than N1.5 trillion in illicit narcotics and arresting 29,262 suspects, underscoring an intensified national “war on drugs.”