NDLEA foils shipment of high-potency drugs hidden in water purifiers

…Intercepts Ammunition in Kaduna

By Kingsley Omonobi

ABUJA — The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) says its operatives have uncovered consignments of high-potency illicit drugs concealed in water purifier machines shipped from the Netherlands into Nigeria.

The agency disclosed that the intercepted shipment contained ketamine weighing 3 kilograms and 199 grams of MDMA (Ecstasy) pills, carefully hidden inside water purifier machines discovered at a courier company in Lagos on Tuesday, May 26, 2026.

In a separate operation in Kaduna State, NDLEA operatives arrested a couple, Musa Sunday and Mercy Sunday, alongside another suspect, Salomi Ezekiel, 38, after seizing 100 jumbo bags of skunk with a total weight of 1,246 kilograms from a residence in the Gonin Gora area on Sunday, May 24.

The agency also reported another interception along the Abuja–Kaduna highway at Jere on the same day, where officers arrested a 30-year-old suspect, Sunusi Musa, in possession of 380 rounds of military-grade 7.62mm ammunition allegedly heading to Katsina State.

According to the NDLEA, the suspect and the ammunition have been handed over to the appropriate security agency for further investigation and action.

In Niger State, operatives acting on intelligence raided a warehouse at Gidan Kukah in Bosso Local Government Area, recovering 457 kilograms of skunk. A suspect, Godwin Zakka, 46, was also arrested at his residence in Gbeganu, Minna, in connection with the seizure.

In Enugu State, NDLEA officers on patrol along the Onitsha–Enugu expressway intercepted a commercial vehicle bound for Taraba State. A search of the bus led to the recovery of 22,000 tramadol pills, 100 ampoules of pentazocine, and 200 grams of bromazepam. The driver, identified as James Maigari Wisdom, was arrested.

The agency also said its commands nationwide continued its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation campaigns in schools, worship centres, workplaces, and communities during the week.

These outreach programmes included lectures at Government Secondary School, Adiabo in Cross River State; St Patrick’s Memorial College, Wukari in Taraba; Roman Catholic Mission Nursery and Primary School, Ibeju-Lekki in Lagos; and Kings Secondary School, Amawbia in Anambra State, among others.

NDLEA Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), commended officers of the Kaduna, Niger, and Enugu Commands, as well as the Directorate of Operations and General Investigation (DOGI), for the arrests and seizures.

He urged personnel across the country to sustain the momentum in both drug supply reduction operations and public sensitisation efforts under the agency’s War Against Drug Abuse initiative.

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