NDLEA catches 7-year fugitive with 11.6kg of cocaine, meth

Stanley Ihedigbo

After a prolonged manhunt, the Operatives of a special unit of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have successfully tracked down and arrested a high-profile fugitive wanted for drug trafficking, Okpara Paul Chigozie, 60, confiscating a substantial cache of cocaine and methamphetamine weighing 11.6 kilograms.

According to the Director, Media & Advocacy, NDLEA, Femi Babafemi, Okpara, who has been on the wanted list of NDLEA since 2019, was eventually nabbed at his hideout at 72 Micheal Ojo Street, Isheri in Ojo area of Lagos state on Sunday, 13th July 2025, following the interception of some of his consignments at 5:45 am same day at Ilasamaja along Apapa-Oshodi expressway.

In the early morning operation, a team of NDLEA officers acting on credible intelligence arrested one of Okpara’s couriers, 51-year-old Achebe Kenneth Nnamdi, while heading to Onitsha, Anambra state, in a white Toyota Sienna vehicle.

The agency’s sniffer dogs were subsequently brought in to search the vehicle, after which 7.6 kilograms of cocaine and 900 grams of methamphetamine were found hidden in the body compartments of the space bus. A follow-up operation was promptly carried out at Okpara’s hideout in Isheri, where an additional 1.8kg of cocaine and 1.3kg of methamphetamine were recovered from his residence.

At the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos, NDLEA operatives in a joint operation with Aviation Security personnel of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) on Wednesday, 16th July, recovered 7,790 pills of tramadol and rohypnol from the luggage of an Italy-bound passenger, Omoregie Nice Uyiosa.

The suspect, who was going to Italy via Istanbul on a Turkish Airlines flight, claimed he purchased the drugs himself, hoping to sell them in Italy at higher prices.

In another arrest at the Lagos airport, NDLEA operatives at the export shed on Thursday, 17th July, intercepted 17 parcels of skunk, a strain of cannabis, weighing 1.70kg, concealed in packs of popular cereal, Golden Morn, going to Pakistan as part of a consolidated cargo.

A suspect, Chioba Robert Uchenna, who presented the consignment for shipment, was arrested.

In Lagos, NDLEA operatives on Saturday, 19th July, raided Sarah Sam Hotels located at 115 Ogudu road in Kosofe, where different party drugs are being distributed and sold.

The raid followed credible intelligence and surveillance, which confirmed a suspect, Obayemi Oyetade, as the arrowhead of the drug network.

At the time of the operation, 1.30kg of Chocolate Cannabis, 900grams of gummies and 22.9grams of skunk were recovered from Obayemi’s room in the hotel, which is a 20-room facility run as a family business, housing his mother and siblings. Other items recovered from the hotel include three vehicles.

Three suspects: Onyeka Madu, Monday Nwadishi and Emmanuel Madu were arrested on Saturday, 19th July, during an intelligence-led raid at Narayi High Cost area of Chikun LGA, Kaduna State, where 742.866 kilograms of skunk and Colorado, a synthetic strain of cannabis, were seized from them.

In Kano, Lawan Rabiu was nabbed with 36,000 pills of tramadol along the Danbatta-Kazaure road on Wednesday, 16th July.
While a total of 25,000 pills of tramadol and exol-5 were recovered from a suspect, Aliyu Abubakar, at Gombe roundabout on Friday, 18th July, the duo of Mohammed Adamu and Furaira Idris were arrested same day with 49 blocks of compressed skunk that weighed 29kg at Kwadom, Yemaltu Deba LGA, Gombe state.

In Borno, NDLEA officers on patrol along Baga road, Maiduguri, on Saturday 19th July intercepted 74,360 pills of opioids in a Mercedes Benz C180 car marked GUB 409 AA and arrested Audu Modu, 44, in connection with the seizure, while in Bayelsa state, a 63-year-old grandma Akuna Nelson was on Thursday 17th July arrested at Osiri area of Yenagoa in connection with the seizure of 163 litres of skuchies.

Four suspects: Ikechukw Abugu, 42; Sunday Ani, 18; Chukwu Christian, 46; and Emmanuel Olisakwe, 55, were arrested on Thursday, 17th July arrested by NDLEA operatives along Okene-Lokoja highway, Kogi state, in connection with the seizure of 2kg methamphetamine recovered during a search of their vehicle coming from Onitsha, Anambra state, to Minna, Niger state.

In Abia state, NDLEA officers on Monday, 14th July raided the base of a notorious drug dealer, Nduka Obi, 39, at 4 Niger street, Ugwa road, Aba, where various quantities of tramadol, cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine and a total of N736,000 monetary exhibit were recovered from him.

While a total of 45,000 pills of tramadol were seized from a suspect, Chisom Okpalaeke, 30, by NDLEA operatives on patrol along Onitsha – Enugu expressway, Enugu state on Wednesday, 16th July, officers of the Taraba state command of the agency same day, apprehended the duo of Ngwokwoka Thomas, 44, and Mohammed Audu, 44, with 10,000 caps of tramadol and a gram of cannabis at Dan Anacha, Gassol LGA.

The War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) social advocacy activities by the NDLEA Commands equally continued across the country in the past week.

Some of them include: WADA sensitization lecture delivered to students and staff of Government Day Secondary School, Badeggi, Niger; Dah Model Academy, Ngurore, Adamawa; Icon Academy, Nsukka, Enugu; Government Technical College, Nkpor, Anambra and Madrisatul Tahfizul Qur’an Wa Ulumud Deen, Jaba Fagge, Kano state; among others.

While commending the officers and men of MMIA, SOU, Lagos, Kaduna, Osun, Bayelsa, Gombe, Borno, Abia, Kogi, Enugu, and Taraba Commands of the Agency for the arrests and seizures of the past week, Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd) also praised their counterparts in all the commands across the country for intensifying a fair balance between their drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction efforts.