The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) says it has seized more than 7.6 million tramadol pills and 76,273 kilograms of cannabis during coordinated operations carried out across multiple Nigerian states.
The NDLEA disclosed the seizures in a statement on Sunday, 7 December 2025, signed by its Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, at the agency’s headquarters in Abuja.
The agency said the raids followed months of intelligence gathering aimed at dismantling drug trafficking networks operating through urban markets, interstate highways and forest-based cultivation centres.
The NDLEA reported that officers uncovered a major warehouse at Oko Market in Asaba, Delta State, on 6 December, recovering 3,874,000 tramadol pills of various strengths and 252 litres of codeine syrup.
The statement added that on 3 December, operatives intercepted a vehicle along the Onitsha–Owerri road in Imo State, arresting 35-year-old Kelechi Nwakocha and recovering 1.2 million tramadol tablets loaded in Aba and bound for Onitsha.
In Adamawa State, NDLEA officers on 1 December intercepted a bus travelling from Jos along the Maraba–Mubi route and seized 1,577,112 capsules of tramadol and exol-5 concealed among bags of rubber sandals.
The agency confirmed that three suspects were arrested in the operation and that another suspect was intercepted on Zaria–Kano road with 197,000 pills of exol-5.
Special units also carried out forest raids in Omuo-Ekiti, Ekiti State, destroying 14,654 kilograms of cannabis and arresting two suspects.
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A separate operation on 2 December in Asin-Ekiti, Ikole LGA, led to the destruction of two warehouses containing 54,300 kilograms of cannabis, with an additional 28 kilograms recovered for prosecution.
In Ondo State, operatives raided Igoba forest in Akure North, recovering 5,442 kilograms of compressed cannabis and arresting five suspects.
The NDLEA also reported seizing 500 kilograms of cannabis from a Mercedes-Benz van along the Mokwa–Jebba road in Niger State.
In Abuja, officers recovered 22 kilograms of Colorado, a synthetic cannabis, at Abaji expressway and arrested two additional suspects linked to 573,500 pills along the Kwali–Gwagwalada corridor.
The agency said multiple seizures were made in Lagos, including Canadian Loud, cannabis and other substances recovered from suspects in Mushin, Onipanu and Ojo.
The statement noted that a WhatsApp-based drug distribution network in Lekki was also dismantled, with traffickers disguising Canadian Loud as imported Christmas snacks.
Babafemi said the operations show the scale of drug trafficking across the country and warned that the NDLEA will intensify surveillance ahead of the festive season.
He added that the agency will continue intelligence-driven raids targeting major supply routes, border communities and forest zones to disrupt criminal networks.
