NDLEA Intercepts Colorado, Loud, Tramadol As Two Drug Kingpins Excrete 125 Wraps Of Heroin At Airports [Photos]

Efforts by two major drug traffickers to smuggle heroin into Nigeria through the Port Harcourt International Airport and Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) have been thwarted by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).

This was made known in a statement to Naija News on Sunday after by NDLEA Spokesperson, Femi Babafemi.

One of the suspects, identified as Onyekwonike Elochuckwu Sylvanus, 30, was apprehended using a Sierra Leonean passport under the name Kargbo Mohamed Foday. Sylvanus, who operates under dual identities to facilitate cross-border drug trafficking, was intercepted by NDLEA officers on Sunday, February 2, 2025, at the Port Harcourt airport while arriving on a Qatar Airways flight from Doha via Abuja.

Following a body scan that confirmed the presence of illicit substances in his system, he was placed under excretion observation, during which he expelled 62 wraps of heroin, totaling 1.348 kilograms, over five excretions.

Investigations revealed that Sylvanus alternates between his Nigerian and Sierra Leonean identities for trafficking heroin between Thailand, Pakistan, Iran, and West African countries. He admitted to venturing full-time into the illicit drug trade in 2017 after his clothing and shoe business collapsed.

Second Drug Kingpin Caught at Lagos Airport

Another trafficker, James Herbert Chinoso, 48, was arrested at MMIA on Saturday, February 1, 2025, upon arrival from Madagascar via Addis Ababa on an Ethiopian Airlines flight. A body scan confirmed he had ingested illicit drugs, leading to his placement under excretion observation. Over time, he expelled 63 wraps of heroin weighing 909 grams.

Chinoso had left Lagos for Madagascar on January 26, 2025, and returned after spending a week. He admitted to engaging in drug trafficking after his phone accessories business in Liberia collapsed.

Seizures from International and Local Drug Operations

NDLEA operatives at a courier firm in Lagos intercepted two parcels of 2.82 kilograms of Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis imported from the United States, destined for Lagos.

In a separate interdiction operation on Thursday, February 6, another shipment containing 80 ampoules of pentazocine injection (225 grams) concealed in cartons was seized at a different logistics company in Lagos while en route to Canada.

Meanwhile, in Kano, NDLEA officers arrested Usaini Salisu and Yahaya Mu’azu, both 23 years old, on Monday, February 3, 2025, along Gadar Tamburawa, Zaria Road. They were found transporting 15,396 pills of tramadol, concealed inside a gas cylinder. On the same day, operatives also apprehended Choima Okeke, 35, in Sabon Gari, with 27 blocks of skunk (15kg).

In Kogi State, NDLEA officers intercepted a consignment of 12,800 tramadol pills (250mg) on Saturday, February 8, 2025, along the Kabba-Obajana highway, leading to the arrest of Salisu Basiru, 33. Similarly, 65 parcels of Colorado, a potent synthetic cannabis strain weighing 1.600kg, also bound for Jigawa State, were seized from Rufai Hassan, 32, at the same checkpoint.

Nationwide Drug Awareness Campaigns Continue

Alongside enforcement operations, NDLEA’s War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) campaign intensified, with sensitization programs held in schools, workplaces, religious centers, and communities. Recent awareness activities included lectures at:

• Saint Secondary School, Abakaliki, Ebonyi
• Taangayar Malam Abubakar Bichi (Almajiri school), Bichi, Kano
• Federal Government Girls College, Calabar, Cross River
• College of Nursing and Science, Birnin Kebbi
• Meiran Community Junior Secondary School, Abule Egba, Lagos

Commending the efforts of officers across MMIA, PHIA, DOGI, Kano, and Kogi Commands, NDLEA Chairman, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), applauded their commitment to disrupting drug supply chains while intensifying demand reduction initiatives nationwide.

See photos from the operations below: