The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has recorded one of its biggest breakthroughs in recent years, dismantling a Lagos-based opioids cartel and seizing illicit drugs worth more than N6.7 billion in a major intelligence-led operation.
According to a statement by the NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi on Wednesday, operatives of the Agency’s Special Operations Unit stormed a secret warehouse hidden inside a residential estate in the Bucknor, Isheri area of Isolo, Lagos, arresting alleged drug baron Onyekachi Pius Nwanagu and five members of his criminal network.
Babafemi disclosed that the operation, conducted between 19th and 20th November 2025, followed credible intelligence that the syndicate was preparing to distribute 7.2 million tramadol 225mg pills and 526,200 bottles (53 million millilitres) of codeine syrup ahead of the Christmas season.
He said two members of the group, Egbo Innocent Udalor and Chukwe Emmanuel, were first intercepted at Apple Junction, Festac, while conveying 300 cartons of opioids in a truck.
A swift follow-up raid on the cartel’s warehouse on 23 Sunny Billa East Street, Bucknor uncovered the massive consignment, estimated at a combined street value of N6,722,550,000. The haul included 7,272,000 tramadol pills worth N3.96 billion and 53 million millilitres of codeine syrup valued at N2.76 billion.
Babafemi noted that the drugs were evacuated from the estate in eleven trucks and taken to the NDLEA’s central exhibit complex in Lagos.
He added that the warehouse raid also led to the arrest of three additional members of the syndicate: Nwoye Sunday Ali, Nnacho Ogochukwu, and Oraghalia Chukwuebuka Philip.
READ ALSO:
- NDLEA arrests social influencer over online sale of cannabis-laden cookies
- NDLEA uncovers drugs hidden in flight boarding passes
- NDLEA intercepts cocaine-laden vessel from Brazil, detains 20 Filipinos
Babafemi reported that NDLEA Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Brig Gen Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd), hailed the breakthrough as a significant strike against cartels preying on the nation’s youth.
Marwa commended the professionalism of the officers involved, stressing that the seized drugs could have deepened addiction, crime and insecurity across the country.
“This is not just an arrest; it is a clear and unambiguous statement,” Marwa said.
“The days when drug barons thought they were untouchable are over. We will smoke them out of their hiding places. The long arm of the law will catch up with every merchant of death, no matter how high or hidden they think they are,” he added.
He reaffirmed that the Agency remains focused on hunting down the kingpins and financiers behind the illicit drug trade, in line with the mandate given by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
