Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have dismantled a major opi+id traff+cking cartel in Lagos, arresting a dr¥g baron, Onyekachi Pius Nwanagu, and five members of his network. Illicit substances worth over N6.7 billion were seized from a secret warehouse inside a residential estate.
The operation, driven by credible intelligence, uncovered plans by the cartel to distribute over 7.2 million pills of tram+dol (225mg) and 526,200 bottles of codeine syrup ahead of the Christmas season. The warehouse, located at 23 Sunny Billa East Street, Bucknor, Isheri, Isolo, served as the storage hub.
A coordinated raid by the NDLEA Special Operations Unit between 19 and 20 November 2025 first intercepted syndicate members Egbo Innocent Udalor and Chukwe Emmanuel at Apple Junction, Festac, with 300 cartons of opi+ids.
A follow-up raid on the warehouse led to the arrest of the kingpin, Onyekachi Nwanagu, alongside Nwoye Sunday Ali, Nnacho Ogochukwu, and Oraghalia Chukwuebuka Philip. The seized drugs, valued at N6,722,550,000, were evacuated using eleven trucks to the Agency’s central exhibit facility.
NDLEA Chairman/CEO, Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd.), hailed the operation as a major blow to cartels targeting Nigerian youth. He described the seizure as “a clear and unambiguous statement” of the Agency’s resolve under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s mandate.
Marwa reaffirmed the NDLEA’s commitment to tracking major dr¥g financiers.
“The days when dr¥g barons thought they were untouchable are over,” he said. “This arrest shows that the long arm of the law will always catch up with every merchant of d+ath.”
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