Operatives from the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency arrested an Indian businessman and three Nigerian suspects in a major operation that uncovered a tramadol shipment valued at nearly N4 billion at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, as part of a broader crackdown on drug trafficking across the country.

The arrests, announced on Sunday, September 14, 2025, targeted Gupta Ravi Kumar, along with Ogunlana Noah Olanrewaju, Olushola Idrees Kayode, and Bakare Korede Muheeb. The suspects were taken into custody following the interception of 2,248,000 pills of tramadol (200mg/225mg), hidden inside 114 cartons labeled as multivitamins. The consignment, imported from Delhi, India, via an Ethiopian Airlines flight, arrived at the airport's import shed on Monday, September 8. NDLEA officers, acting on intelligence, monitored the shipment and stopped a clearing agent and two drivers attempting to transport it out in trucks on Thursday, September 11. Kumar was apprehended the next day as he sought to collect the goods.

NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi detailed the operation in a statement, emphasizing the agency's surveillance efforts that prevented the drugs from entering the streets. The street value of the seized tramadol stands at N3.99 billion, marking one of the largest opioid busts at the facility this year.

The tramadol case formed part of a week-long nationwide push by NDLEA, which yielded multiple seizures and detentions across several states. At the same airport's Terminal 2 on September 7, officers stopped Onyeganochi Stanley Ifeanyi, a first-time traveler bound for Doha on Qatar Airways, after discovering 900 grams of skunk – a potent cannabis strain – concealed in crayfish within his luggage. Ifeanyi implicated Ohadiegwu Anthony Uchenna, a Qatar-based Nigerian who had escorted him to the airport and was arrested on the spot. A search of Uchenna's hotel room in Ajao Estate turned up an additional 200 grams of skunk; he admitted to a plan to reclaim the bag in Doha if it passed undetected.

Further operations at Tincan Port in Lagos on September 9 uncovered 81.7 kilograms of Canadian Loud cannabis and 1.2 kilograms of hashish oil inside a 40-foot container of vehicle spare parts from Montreal, Canada. Two men, John Ochigbo, 53, and Okeke Kingsley, 26, were detained in connection with the find during a joint examination.

On the Third Mainland Bridge later that Thursday, September 11, NDLEA tracked and seized another 65 kilograms of Canadian Loud from a Toyota Sienna, arresting the driver, Abubakar Ibrahim, 42. Courier firms in Lagos also came under scrutiny: on September 8, six grams of methamphetamine bound for Gabon was found hidden in a picture frame, while 1.1 kilograms of Canadian Loud concealed in video players was intercepted on September 11, destined for the United Arab Emirates.

In Ikorodu, a raid on a factory in the Caritas area of Ibeshe on September 11 dismantled a production site for skuchies – a mix of cannabis and black currant drink – recovering 6,029 bottles of the substance and 4,232 kilograms of cannabis. Factory manager Joy Awosika was arrested, along with Akeem Oriola in Mushin, who had 26 kilograms of skunk.

The sweeps extended beyond Lagos. In Abuja's Utako district on September 11, dispatch rider Godsplan Vincent, 29, was caught with 50.7 grams of cocaine and 66 grams of Canadian Loud during a routine check. Oyo State saw the arrest of three women – Faidat Azeez, 25; Alanu Fatimoh, 40; and Mojeed Taiwo, 25 – in Oyo town with 17 kilograms of skunk. Kano operations netted 100,000 tramadol pills from Musa Shuaibu, 38, on September 8 along the Zaria-Kano road; 196 liters of Akuskura, a synthetic psychoactive, from Abubakar Adamu, 35; and 34.1 kilograms of skunk from Basiru Umar, 18, on September 11.

Anambra arrests included a couple, Nzube Onyedika, 41, and Ebele Onyedika, 42, in Obosi with 13.9 kilograms of methamphetamine and 5.3 kilograms of skunk, plus Nnamchi Tochukwu, 36, who possessed various amounts of methamphetamine, tramadol, swinol, heroin, and skunk. In Yobe's Potiskum, Mohammed Auwal was detained after 22.1 kilograms of cannabis was found at his home. A joint effort with police and vigilantes in Ogun's Imeko area on September 7 captured three cross-border traffickers – Kunyadi Kunle Ogbungbun, 24; Olalekan Adewale, 20; and Sanya Joshua, 22 – with 394 kilograms of skunk and three motorcycles. Edo State operations destroyed a 6.786653-hectare cannabis farm in Ugbogyi Forest, seizing 16,966.633 kilograms of skunk and 1,176 kilograms in processed bags, while arresting Ebenezer Ewang, Oshore John, Emmanuel Monday, and David Sunday.

NDLEA Chairman Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.) praised the officers for their vigilance, urging sustained efforts in both supply reduction and demand management. The rising involvement of foreign nationals in Nigeria's drug trade has drawn attention, with experts pointing to recent convictions like that of Canadian Adrienne Munju, sentenced to 11 years in October 2024 for smuggling 35.2 kilograms of Canadian Loud. While prosecutions continue, calls grow for tougher penalties to curb the trend and protect the nation's reputation.