Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), under its Special Operations Unit, have finally arrested a 60-year-old suspected drug kingpin, Okpara Paul Chigozie, who had been on the run for seven years.
The long-awaited arrest took place on Sunday, July 13, 2025, at his hideout located in Isheri, within the Ojo axis of Lagos State.
The arrest followed the earlier apprehension of one of Chigozie’s couriers, 51-year-old Achebe Kenneth Nnamdi, who was intercepted on the Apapa-Oshodi Expressway at Ilasamaja. NDLEA operatives, acting on intelligence, stopped a white Toyota Sienna vehicle headed for Onitsha, Anambra State. Upon a thorough search assisted by sniffer dogs, they uncovered 7.6 kilograms of cocaine and 900 grams of methamphetamine cleverly concealed within secret compartments of the vehicle.
A subsequent raid at Chigozie’s residence led to the discovery of an additional 1.8 kilograms of cocaine and 1.3 kilograms of methamphetamine. This brought the total quantity of illicit drugs linked directly to him to 11.6 kilograms. The NDLEA revealed that Chigozie had been on its wanted list since 2019, and his arrest marks the culmination of years of painstaking surveillance and intelligence gathering.
In a related operation at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, NDLEA operatives in collaboration with airport security officers intercepted 7,790 pills of tramadol and rohypnol. The drugs were concealed in the luggage of a passenger, Omoregie Nice Uyiosa, who was en route to Italy via Istanbul.
Another consignment of 1.70 kilograms of cannabis sativa, commonly known as skunk, was also intercepted at the airport’s export shed. The drugs were disguised as packets of breakfast cereal, Golden Morn, and were destined for Pakistan. The sender, Chioba Robert Uchenna, was promptly arrested.
On Saturday, July 19, NDLEA operatives carried out an intelligence-led raid at the Sarah Sam Hotel in the Kosofe area of Lagos. The operation led to the seizure of 1.3 kilograms of chocolate infused with cannabis, 900 grams of drug-laced gummies, and 22.9 grams of skunk. A suspected distributor of party drugs, Obayemi Oyetade, was arrested during the operation.
Nationwide operations by the NDLEA between July 14 and 19 also yielded significant drug seizures and arrests. In Kaduna State, three suspects were arrested in Chikun Local Government Area with a combined total of 742.9 kilograms of skunk and synthetic cannabis known as Colorado. In Kano State, Lawan Rabiu was arrested along the Danbatta-Kazaure road with 36,000 tramadol tablets.
In Gombe State, three suspects—Aliyu Abubakar, Mohammed Adamu, and Furaira Idris—were apprehended with 25,000 tramadol and Exol-5 tablets, as well as 29 kilograms of compressed skunk. In Borno State, a suspect named Audu Modu was caught with 74,360 opioid tablets in Maiduguri. In Bayelsa, 63-year-old Akuna Nelson was arrested with 163 litres of a mixture known as skuchies in Yenagoa.
Kogi State operatives intercepted four suspects on the Okene-Lokoja highway with two kilograms of methamphetamine. In Abia State, a raid in Aba uncovered a variety of hard drugs including cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, and tramadol. The operation also led to the recovery of N736,000 in cash from a suspected dealer, Nduka Obi.
In Enugu State, NDLEA officials intercepted 45,000 tramadol pills along the Onitsha-Enugu expressway. In Taraba State, two suspects, Ngwokwoka Thomas and Mohammed Audu, were arrested with 10,000 tramadol capsules and a small quantity of cannabis.
The Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA, Brigadier General Mohammed Buba Marwa (retired), commended the successful coordination of these operations by various commands across the country. He also praised the continued implementation of the War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) initiative, which remains active in schools and communities across Niger, Adamawa, Enugu, Anambra, and Kano States.
The arrest of Okpara Paul Chigozie is regarded as a significant victory in Nigeria’s ongoing war against drug trafficking. The NDLEA reiterated its commitment to dismantling drug cartels, cutting off supply chains, and ensuring that traffickers are brought to justice.
