NDLEA intercepts ‘terror drug’ in Kwara

Barely five years after the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) recorded the first seizure of Captagon, known as “the terror drug,” in Africa at the Apapa seaport in Lagos, operatives of the agency have again intercepted a consignment of the amphetamine substance in Kwara State. This was disclosed in a statement issued yesterday by […]

Barely five years after the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) recorded the first seizure of Captagon, known as “the terror drug,” in Africa at the Apapa seaport in Lagos, operatives of the agency have again intercepted a consignment of the amphetamine substance in Kwara State.

This was disclosed in a statement issued yesterday by the agency’s spokesperson, Femi Babafemi.

Captagon, a tiny, but highly addictive pill, widely available across the Middle East, produces a euphoric intensity in users, allowing them to stay awake for days, making them fearless, and predisposes them to reckless action that puts the lives of people around them in jeopardy.

The statement noted that its production and sale are controlled by militias and large criminal groups linked to the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) as a means of generating funds for weapons and combatants, and for use as a stimulant to keep them fighting.

“The latest seizure of captagon, which street value costs as much as $25 a pill, was made on Tuesday 21st April 2026 when NDLEA operatives on patrol along Bode Saadu Road, Kwara State, intercepted a trailer conveying passengers.

“A search conducted on one of the passengers, 33-year-old Nasiru Mu’azu, led to the recovery of 10 packs of captagon consisting of 10,000 pills and nine packets of Tapentadol 250mg,” the statement said.

In another interdiction operation at the Bode Saadu patrol point, NDLEA officers on Friday, 24th April intercepted a trailer marked RMY-70XA.

A search of the truck led to the recovery of 155,900 capsules of tramadol; 6,000 ampoules of tramadol injection; 3,000 tablets of Co- Codamol and 9,000 tablets of Bromazepam, concealed in a false compartment constructed under the trailer.

A 24-year-old suspect Aminu Isah has been taken into custody in connection with the seizure.

Meanwhile, NDLEA operatives in Oyo State on Tuesday, April 21 intercepted a commercial bus with registration number MNA 963 ZY, at Akinyele along Ibadan/Oyo expressway, while en route Sokoto.

“A 33-year-old passenger, Eze Prince Emeka, was brought down from the vehicle and taken for body scan, which confirmed the ingestion of illicit drugs.

“The suspect, who claimed to be a businessman in Sokoto, was subsequently placed under close excretion observation during which he excreted a total of forty-five (45) pellets of cocaine with a total weight of 1.043 kilograms in three excretions.

“The decision to travel by road to Sokoto with the illicit drug in his stomach was to evade detection by NDLEA at the airport while further investigation reveals that upon arrival in Sokoto, the suspect was to excrete the pellets, rest for a few days, and subsequently re-ingest the substances to continue the journey through the trans-Saharan routes, with Algeria as a transit point and possible final destination in Europe,” the statement said.

Also in Edo State, NDLEA officers on patrol along Benin/Lagos expressway on Saturday 25th April intercepted a truck marked NLC 146 FC conveying 1, 196,000 pills of pharmaceutical opioids, among others.

Two suspects: Osagie Igbinibo, 43, and Omijie Malik, 44, were apprehended in connection with the seizure of the consignments heading to Onitsha, Anambra State.

In the same vein, a suspect, Rasheed Ibuowo, 40, was arrested at Mile 2 Expressway in Lagos on Saturday 25th April conveying 810 kilograms of Arizona, a strain of cannabis, while another suspect Muktar Bello, 35, was nabbed by NDLEA operatives on Wednesday 22nd April at Misau Road, Azare/Katagun LGA, Bauchi State, with 288 blocks of skunk weighing 154.5kg.

In Ekiti State, a total of 466.8 kilograms of skunk were recovered from the house of a suspect, Layit John Matthew, 56, at Ilaro street, Isinbode-Ekiti, from where he planned to transport them to Yola, Adamawa State, while 20,000 kilograms of the same psychoactive substance were destroyed on eight hectares of farmland in Uyanga community, Akamkpa LGA of Cross River State on Saturday 25th April when NDLEA officers supported by soldiers raided the community and recovered 170kg of processed cannabis.

While commending the officers and men of Kwara, Oyo, Edo, Cross River, Bauchi, Ekiti, Niger and Lagos Commands of the Agency for the arrests and seizures, Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd) noted their drug supply reduction efforts balanced with WADA sensitisation activities while he charged them and their compatriots across the country to maintain the current tempo.

“We are not just seizing pills; we are disrupting the fuel that powers violence in our communities. Our operatives remain on high alert across all frontiers to ensure this illicit trade finds no foothold,” he stated.