By Christabel Ndoeche
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency says its operatives have uncovered three illicit drug warehouses hidden within a residential estate in the Okota area of Lagos State, recovering narcotics valued at about N16.9bn.
In a statement released on Wednesday, signed by its Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, the agency said the raid led to the seizure of “Two Million Three Hundred and Sixty Thousand (2,360,000) pills of high-potency tramadol 225mg and One Million Nine Hundred and Nine Thousand Four Hundred (1,909,400) bottles of codeine syrup” stored across the facilities.
The NDLEA said the intelligence-led operation was carried out on Friday, April 17, 2026, at 98 Olukayode Awofisayo Street and 5 Charles Ndumetu Street, both within Park View Estate, Ago Palace Way, Okota, where the warehouses were uncovered.
According to the agency, the recovery included 19,094 cartons containing 1,909,400 bottles of codeine syrup and 34 cartons of tramadol tablets concealed within the estate.
Reacting to the development, NDLEA Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.) described the operation as a major disruption of a drug trafficking network operating within residential communities.
Marwa said, “The scale of this recovery, nearly 4.3 million units of lethal substances, is a testament to the fact that our officers are staying several steps ahead of these merchants of death.”
He added that the concealment of such quantities in residential estates underscored both the tactics of drug cartels and the effectiveness of the agency’s intelligence operations.
According to him, “To find such volumes hidden within residential estates like Park View and busy hubs like Okota shows the desperation of these cartels, but it also highlights the peerless intelligence capabilities of our team.”
Marwa warned that there would be no safe haven for drug traffickers in the country, stressing that the agency would continue to target and dismantle drug networks wherever they operate.
“Let this be a clear signal to those who think they can profit from the destruction of our children’s futures: we will find you, we will dismantle your networks, and we will bring the full weight of the law upon you,” he said.
The NDLEA said the operation forms part of ongoing efforts to combat illicit drug trafficking and substance abuse across Nigeria.
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