The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has intercepted 300,000 pills of Exol-5 in separate operations across Ogun and Kaduna States, in a renewed crackdown on illicit drug trafficking.
NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, disclosed this in a statement on Sunday in Abuja, noting that multiple raids across seven states also led to the recovery of large quantities of other narcotics.
He said operatives arrested a 29-year-old suspect on Wednesday in New Bussa, Niger State, with 150,000 Exol-5 pills, 800 ampoules of pentazocine injection, and 22,000 tramadol capsules. Another suspect, identified as 27-year-old “Farin Malam,” was apprehended at the Abuja–Kaduna toll gate while conveying another 150,000 Exol-5 pills from Lagos to Katsina.
At the Murtala Mohammed International Airport in Lagos, NDLEA officers intercepted 27,510 Rohypnol pills concealed in alcoholic drink sachets bound for South Africa. A follow-up operation at Oyingbo market led to the arrest of a 46-year-old mastermind, while an Italy-based trafficker was caught attempting to export over 6,000 opioid pills hidden in food items.
In separate operations, NDLEA officers in Edo State recovered 47kg of skunk in Etsako Central, while 635kg of the same substance was seized from a Toyota Hiace bus in Osun State. Two additional suspects were arrested at the scene with another 100kg.
Similar raids in Rivers, Katsina, Ondo, and along the Benin–Lagos Expressway resulted in multiple arrests and the seizure of hundreds of kilograms of skunk.
Babafemi added that NDLEA’s War Against Drug Abuse campaign continued in schools, religious centres, and workplaces across ten states during the week.
NDLEA Chairman, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (rtd.), commended the agency’s commands in Edo, Rivers, Kaduna, Katsina, Niger, Ondo, and Osun for their efforts, urging continued professionalism and vigilance in the ongoing national drug control campaign.
