Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency have intercepted 5.8 kilograms of cocaine concealed inside heads of imported dry stockfish, popularly known as “okporoko,” in Lagos.
The agency said the consignment, believed to be part of a transnational trafficking network targeting Delhi, was recovered during a sting operation by its Murtala Muhammed International Airport Strategic Command in the Ojo area of Lagos on March 19, 2026. A suspect, 36-year-old Akputa Dickson Ejike, was arrested with three jumbo bags containing 237 wraps of cocaine hidden in the fish.
NDLEA spokesman Femi Babafemi said the operation followed intelligence on the syndicate’s cross-border trafficking activities and distribution links, particularly to India.
In a separate operation on March 25, NDLEA operatives intercepted two consignments bound for the United Kingdom at a courier company in Lagos. One shipment from Cotonou contained 1.9kg of methamphetamine concealed in automobile filters, while another parcel contained 40 ampoules of morphine sulphate and nine ampoules of fentanyl.
Also in Lagos, operatives raided a suspected drug distribution hub in the Yaba area and arrested 46-year-old Omolade Abigail Jolayemi, popularly known as “Iya Ghana,” alongside her sales assistant, Sarah Zainab Agbabiaka. A total of 76.3kg of “Ghana loud,” a strain of cannabis, was recovered from the premises. Another suspect, Anayo Lucky Ohabiro, was arrested the same day in Surulere with 41kg of the same substance.
In Ekiti State, NDLEA operatives arrested an 80-year-old suspect, Oke Samuel, during a raid in Efon-Alaaye, recovering 2.2kg of skunk and 1.8 grams of methamphetamine. In a related operation in Ondo State, officers seized 894.72kg of skunk from an uncompleted building in the Ogbese area and arrested a suspect, Enuwa Kehinde Kingsley.
Further seizures were recorded in Benue State, where 116.7kg of skunk was recovered from a suspect in Guma Local Government Area, and in Edo State, where operatives uncovered a warehouse in Ekpoma and arrested a suspect with 576.5kg of skunk and 33 bottles of codeine-based syrup.
Similarly, in Taraba State, officers intercepted a truck conveying 135kg of compressed skunk concealed in bags of animal feed en route from Garbachede to Gombe State. Two suspects were arrested in connection with the seizure.
