Nigerian Authorities Foil Rohypnol Export To South Africa, Arrest Mastermind At Lagos Market
Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have seized 27,510 Rohypnol pills hidden inside sachets of alcoholic drinks at the export shed of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) in Ikeja, Lagos.
Femi Babafemi, NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy, disclosed this in a statement issued on Sunday, noting that the illicit consignment was destined for South Africa before vigilant officers discovered it.
Following the interception, the agency arrested a freight agent and a cab driver linked to the shipment. A follow-up operation at the Oyingbo Market in Lagos led to the arrest of the mastermind, identified as 46-year-old Samuel Omoruyi, popularly known as Yellow, on October 2, 2025.
Babafemi further revealed that, on the same day, an Italy-based businessman, Enehizena Augustine Uyimwen, was apprehended while attempting to export 3,700 pills of Tramadol 225mg and 2,600 tablets of Tapentadol 200mg concealed in food items to Italy.
Uyimwen reportedly confessed that he was trafficking the opioids for another individual in exchange for a fee of €945 (Nine Hundred and Forty-Five Euros).
In Edo State, NDLEA operatives raided the residence of Emmanuel Sunday, 33, at Ugbekpe Ekperi in Etsako Central Local Government Area, where they recovered 47 kilograms of skunk, a potent strain of cannabis.
Similarly, in Osun State, officers arrested Nureni Ayobami Eleweodo, 48, and Oladejo Taiwo, 52, on Wednesday, October 8, at Omifufun village, Ife South Local Government Area, following the seizure of 635 kilograms of skunk from their Toyota Hiace bus with registration number DDA 65 ZY.
Two other suspects, Timothy Omiwole, 41, and Isaac Achiatan, 36, were also nabbed at the same location with 100 kilograms of skunk and a motorcycle used for transportation.
According to the statement, in Rivers State, operatives arrested Okoro Julius, 20, and Onyebuchi Nwibo, 25, in different parts of Port Harcourt on Friday, October 10, in connection with the seizure of 8.5 kilograms of skunk.
In Katsina State, NDLEA officers apprehended Sulaiman Kalalu, 46, at Bayan Asiti, Jibia town, after discovering 29.5 kilograms of cannabis in his residence on Saturday, October 11.
Elsewhere, in Niger State, operatives arrested Yisa Daniel, 29, in New Bussa on Wednesday, October 8, after seizing 22,000 capsules of Tramadol, 800 ampoules of Pentazocine injection, and 150,000 pills of Exol-5 from him.
In Ondo State, officers recovered 312 kilograms of skunk from a bush camp at Ologede, Ogbese, while two suspects, Francis John, 39, and Adeyemi Taiwo, 46, were intercepted along the Benin–Lagos Expressway with 141.8 kilograms of the same substance on Thursday, October 9.
Similarly, in Kaduna State, NDLEA operatives arrested Rufai Ahmed, 27, also known as Farin Malam, at the Abuja–Kaduna Toll Gate while transporting 150,000 pills of Exol-5 from Lagos to Katsina.
Babafemi added that all suspects remain in custody as investigations continue into the various drug trafficking networks across the country.