NDLEA seizes captagon of ‘terrorist drug’ in Kwara, suspect expels 45 cocaine pellets in Oyo

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has intercepted a large consignment of Captagon, a dangerous stimulant linked to insurgency and organized crime, in Kwara State, in what authorities have described as a major breakthrough against emerging drug trafficking threats.

The agency said its officers, during a routine patrol along Bode Saadu Road on April 21, 2026, stopped a passenger vehicle and discovered 10,000 pills of the illicit substance on a 33-year-old suspect, Nasiru Mu’azu.

According to a statement on Sunday by NDLEA Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, officers also recovered nine packets of Tapentadol, a powerful opioid, from the suspect.

Captagon, widely abused in parts of the Middle East, is known to induce extreme alertness, suppress fear and increase aggression, properties that have made it popular among militant groups. Its trafficking has been linked to organized criminal networks and extremist organizations, raising new concerns about its infiltration into Nigeria.

In a related operation on April 24 at the same checkpoint, NDLEA officers intercepted a trailer equipped with a hidden compartment loaded with illicit pharmaceutical products. The recovered items included 155,900 tramadol capsules, 6,000 vials of injectable tramadol, 3,000 co-codamol tablets and 9,000 bromazepam tablets. A 24-year-old suspect, Aminu Isah, was arrested.

Meanwhile, in Oyo State, the agency arrested a suspected drug mule, Eze Prince Emeka, along the Ibadan-Oyo highway. The suspect, who had ingested illicit drugs, excreted 45 pellets of cocaine weighing over one kilogram under observation.

Investigations revealed that the suspect was attempting to smuggle the drugs to Europe via trans-Saharan routes, using Algeria as a transit point.

The anti-drug agency has also recorded numerous seizures across the country. In Edo State, two suspects have been arrested with over 1.1 million pharmaceutical opioid pills hidden in a truck headed to Onitsha.

In Lagos, officers seized 810 kilograms of a strain of cannabis known as “Arizona”, while in Bauchi state a suspect was caught with 154.5 kilograms of skunk.

Similarly, in Ekiti State, officers recovered 466.8 kilograms of skunk from a residential building, while a joint operation with the military in Cross River State led to the destruction of 20,000 kilograms of cannabis grown on eight hectares of agricultural land.

In a separate development, NDLEA operatives in Niger State have intercepted a suspect carrying 394 components used in the manufacture of improvised explosive devices. The suspect and the exhibits were subsequently handed over to the relevant security authorities.

Commending the officers for the coordinated operations, NDLEA Chairman, Brig. General Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd), described the seizure of Captagon as a critical disruption to efforts to establish a new pharmaceutical pipeline in Nigeria.

He said: “We’re not just seizing drugs; we’re cutting the resources that fuel violence and crime in our society.”

Marwa added that the agency will continue its offensive against drug trafficking networks, stressing that a combination of supply reduction and public awareness remains key to tackling the threat nationwide.

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