By Peace Erewunmi

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intercepted 47,200 pills of Captagon, popularly referred to as the “Jihadi drug”, alongside more than 3.9 million opioid tablets worth over N6.2 billion at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos.

The seizures were made during separate operations at the airport, according to the NDLEA Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi.

Babafemi said the Captagon consignment was intercepted following the arrest of a 49-year-old suspected cross-border drug trafficker, Akinbile Kazeem Aikins, who arrived in Lagos from Accra, Ghana, on August 22.

A search of his luggage reportedly led to the discovery of 47,200 Captagon pills concealed inside blocks of locally produced bathing soap, popularly known as Ghana Soap.

The agency estimated the street value of the seized Captagon at more than N1.5 billion.

In a separate operation, NDLEA operatives recovered 3,900,030 tablets of Tramaking 225mg and Tapentadol 250mg from four abandoned consignments at the airport’s import shed.

The opioid tablets, with a combined weight of 2,787.40 kilogrammes, were valued at more than N4.6 billion.

According to the NDLEA, three of the consignments contained 900,000 Tramaking tablets and arrived on RwandAir flights from Bangladesh, while the fourth contained 3,000,030 Tapentadol tablets transported aboard a Qatar Airways flight from Amsterdam.

The agency said the consignments were placed under surveillance after no importer came forward to claim them. They were subsequently examined and recovered on August 28 in collaboration with the Nigeria Customs Service and other stakeholders.

The latest seizures highlight the NDLEA’s continued crackdown on drug trafficking and the movement of illicit substances through Nigeria’s international entry points.