The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has intercepted consignments of Captagon, popularly known as the “Jihadi drug”, and millions of opioid tablets worth more than N6.2 billion at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.
The agency also arrested a suspected cross-border drug kingpin and recovered cocaine, heroin and other illicit substances in separate operations across the country.
In a statement on Sunday, the NDLEA said its operatives intercepted the Captagon shipment at the Lagos airport on Saturday, August 22, 2026, following the arrest of a 49-year-old man who arrived from Accra, Ghana, aboard an African World Airlines flight.
A search of his carton of local bathing soap, popularly known as “Ghana Soap”, led to the discovery of 47,200 Captagon pills concealed inside blocks of soap.
The agency valued the consignment at more than N1.5 billion.
Captagon, an amphetamine-based stimulant, has been dubbed the “Jihadi drug” because of reported links to extremist activities in conflict zones. NDLEA said it first intercepted the substance in Nigeria in September 2021 at the Apapa Port in Lagos.
The suspect reportedly told investigators that he was expected to deliver the consignment to northern Nigeria.
N4.6bn Opioids Seized
In a separate operation at the Lagos airport, NDLEA operatives recovered 3,900,030 tablets of Tramaking 225mg and Tapentadol 250mg, weighing 2,787.40kg and valued at more than N4.6 billion.
The drugs were recovered from four abandoned consignments at the import shed of the MMIA after no individual came forward to claim them.
Three of the consignments contained a total of 900,000 tablets of Tramaking, weighing 815.40kg, and arrived on RwandAir flights from Bangladesh.
The fourth consignment contained 3,000,030 tablets of Tapentadol, weighing 1,972kg, and arrived aboard a Qatar Airways flight from Amsterdam.
The consignments were placed under surveillance before they were formally retrieved following a joint examination by NDLEA officers, the Nigeria Customs Service and other stakeholders on Friday.
US Returnee Arrested in Lagos
Meanwhile, NDLEA operatives arrested a 31-year-old United States returnee on August 19 in the Ikate area of Lekki, Lagos.
The suspect was allegedly arrested while attempting to collect 3.350kg of “Loud”, a potent strain of cannabis imported from the United Kingdom.
The arrest was part of the agency’s continuing operations against the trafficking and distribution of illicit drugs across the country.
