…Indian kingpin, three Nigerians nabbed as agency intensifies nationwide crackdown
BY GODWIN OBI
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has dealt a heavy blow to a major drug cartel after intercepting a mind-blowing 2.2 million tramadol pills worth N3.99 billion at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos.
The cartel’s alleged mastermind, Gupta Ravi Kumar, an Indian businessman, was arrested alongside three Nigerian collaborators — Ogunlana Noah Olanrewaju, Olushola Idrees Kayode, and Bakare Korede Muheebb — in what NDLEA described as a well-coordinated operation.
According to NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi, the drugs — smuggled in from Delhi, India, under the guise of multivitamins — were cleverly packed in 114 cartons aboard an Ethiopian Airlines flight that arrived Lagos on September 8. But operatives, who had quietly placed the consignment under surveillance, struck when clearing agents and drivers attempted to move the consignment out of the airport in trucks on September 11.
A follow-up sting operation the next day netted Kumar as he personally showed up to take delivery of the deadly cargo.
Other Major Busts in Lagos and Beyond
The Lagos airport was not the only hotspot. On September 7, a passenger, Onyeganochi Stanley Ifeanyi, was caught with 900 grams of cannabis skunk hidden in dried crayfish while attempting to board a Qatar Airways flight to Doha. His confession led to the dramatic arrest of his alleged sponsor, Ohadiegwu Anthony Uchenna, right at the airport, and further searches uncovered even more drugs in his hotel room.
At Tincan Port, operatives also uncovered 161 parcels of Canadian Loud (81.7kg) and 1.2kg of hashish oil from a container of spare parts shipped from Montreal, Canada. Two suspects were arrested, while another 65kg consignment of the same strain was intercepted on Third Mainland Bridge inside a Toyota Sienna.
Courier companies in Lagos weren’t spared either. NDLEA seized methamphetamine hidden in a picture frame bound for Gabon, and 1.1kg of Loud concealed in video players headed for the UAE.
And in Ikorodu, Lagos, a clandestine factory producing skuchies — a cocktail of cannabis and black currant drink — was busted, yielding over 6,000 bottles of the psychoactive mix and a staggering 4,232kg of cannabis.
Nationwide Crackdown
From Abuja to Anambra, Kano to Yobe, NDLEA’s dragnet pulled in dozens of traffickers:
- In Abuja, a dispatch rider was caught with cocaine and Loud.
- In Oyo, three women were arrested with 17kg of skunk.
- In Kano, operatives seized 100,000 tramadol pills and other dangerous substances, while in Anambra, a couple was caught with 13.9kg of methamphetamine.
- In Edo, NDLEA destroyed nearly 17 tonnes of cannabis on a sprawling plantation.
Marwa Commends Operatives
NDLEA boss, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), praised officers across the country for their relentless fight in the War Against Drug Abuse (WADA). He urged them to sustain the tempo, stressing that the agency will continue to combine intelligence, enforcement, and sensitization in its war against narcotics.
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2025-09-14
