An Indian businessman and three Nigerian accomplices have been arrested by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) in connection with the seizure of 2,248,000 pills of tramadol.
The 200mg/225mg pills were intercepted at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos.
The agency identified the Indian as Gupta Ravi Kumar, and his accomplices as Ogunlana Noah Olanrewaju, Olushola Idrees Kayode, and Bakare Korede Muheeb.
The tramadol shipment worth ₦3,990,000,000 in street value was imported from Delhi, India, disguised as multi-vitamins in 114 cartons and arrived the import shed of the Lagos airport on an Ethiopian Airlines flight on September 8, 2025.
READ ALSO: NDLEA Arrests Suspected Drug Kingpin, Five Others Over Kano Pilgrims’ Detention In Saudi Arabia
The NDLEA explained that its officers, who had put the consignment under surveillance, however, swooped on a clearing agent and two drivers who were trying to move the shipment out of the airport in two trucks on September 11.
“A follow-up operation the following day, Friday led to the arrest of the Indian businessman Gupta Ravi Kumar, when he was trying to take delivery of the consignment,” its Director, Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, stated on Sunday.
Similarly, NDLEA operatives on September 7, intercepted a passenger, Onyeganochi Stanley Ifeanyi, travelling on a Qatar Airlines flight to Doha at the terminal two departure gate of the airport
“A search of his bag led to the recovery of 900grams of skunk, a strain of cannabis concealed in crayfish.
“As a first-time traveler, Onyeganochi claimed the bag was given to him to help take to Doha by a Qatar-based Nigerian Ohadiegwu Anthony Uchenna who actually followed him to the airport,” Babafemi said in the statement.
“His confession led to the arrest of Uchenna, who was still within view. Operatives who later conducted a search of Uchenna’s hotel room in Ajao estate discovered additional 200grams of the same psychoactive substance.
“He claimed he was to return to Doha days later and pick the bag from the unsuspecting Onyeganochi if he had succeeded escaping security checks,” he added.
At the Tincan port in Lagos, the agency said a total of 161 parcels of ‘Canadian Loud,’ a strain of cannabis weighing 81.7kg and 1.2kg of hashish oil were recovered from a 40ft container of vehicle spare parts and used vehicles imported from Montreal Canada.
It explained that the discovery was made during a joint examination of the shipment on September 9.
The NDLEA stated, “Two suspects, John Ochigbo, 53, and Okeke Kingsley, 26, have been taken into custody in connection with the seizure.
“Another shipment of Canadian Loud with a total weight of 65kg was tracked from the port to Third Mainland Bridge, where NDLEA operatives intercepted a Toyota Sienna vehicle conveying the consignment, recovered it, and arrested the driver Abubakar Ibrahim, on September 11.”
