The NDLEA has dismantled a major opioid trafficking ring in Lagos with the arrest of notorious kingpin Onyekachi Pius Nwanagu and five associates. The breakthrough came after weeks of surveillance that pinpointed a massive hidden warehouse in the Isolo area used for storing and distributing millions of doses of tramadol and codeine-based substances.
The operation began on 19 November when officers stopped a truck at Apple Junction, Festac, and seized 300 cartons of opioids from two couriers, Egbo Innocent Udalor and Chukwe Emmanuel. That interception led directly to a raid the following day on the syndicate’s storage facility on Sunny Billa East Street, Bucknor, Isolo, where Nwanagu and three additional members — Nwoye Sunday Ali, Nnacho Ogochukwu, and Oraghalia Chukwuebuka Philip — were taken into custody.
In total, agents confiscated 7.272 million tramadol 225 mg pills worth an estimated N3.96 billion and 53 million millilitres of codeine syrup valued at N2.76 billion, giving the haul a combined street value of N6.72 billion. The drugs were loaded onto eleven trucks and moved to a secure NDLEA facility.
Agency chairman Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (rtd) praised the team for striking a heavy blow against large-scale trafficking just before the holiday season, reaffirming the NDLEA’s commitment to going after the financiers and masterminds behind Nigeria’s drug trade.
