Busted! NDLEA Nabs Two British Drug Lords, Uncovers ₦6.5 Billion Opioid Haul At Lagos, Rivers Ports

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has revealed a major interception of over six million opioid pills—including Tamol 225mg, Tapentadol 225mg, and Carisoprodol 225mg—as well as 332,000 bottles of codeine-based cough syrup at the Port Harcourt Ports Complex in Onne, Rivers State, and Apapa Seaport in Lagos.

In a statement obtained by Naija News on Sunday, May 25, NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, stated that the seizures were the result of intelligence-led tracking of emerging drug trafficking routes, prompting the agency to place specific containers on a watch list for detailed inspection.

At the Onne Port in Port Harcourt, joint examinations by NDLEA officials, Nigeria Customs Service, and other security operatives uncovered six million opioid pills and 162,000 bottles of codeine syrup hidden in two shipping containers on May 19 and 20, 2025.

Similarly, at Lagos’ Apapa Port, 170,000 bottles of codeine syrup were discovered in another flagged container during a coordinated inspection on May 22.

In a related operation, NDLEA operatives arrested two British nationals—Mhizha Jordan Alexander Tatendra and Ayedipe Andrew Adejuwon—alongside two Nigerians, Shonowo Oluwaseun Imole and Ofuoma Omokaro Ayobami, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, as they attempted to smuggle 92 bags of ‘Loud’ cannabis weighing 51.10kg into the country.

Alexander, who arrived on a Qatar Airways flight from Doha on May 15, was allowed to pass through security under surveillance. He was tracked to the airport car park, where Adejuwon (a British-Nigerian), Imole, and Ayobami were waiting in an SUV to collect the consignment.

As the group prepared to leave the airport, NDLEA operatives intercepted the vehicle and arrested all four individuals, recovering the concealed drugs.

During interrogation, Alexander confessed that he was recruited during a recent vacation and promised £1,300 for successfully delivering the package. Adejuwon, the syndicate leader, disclosed he had arrived in Nigeria a day earlier from South Africa via Ghana.