NDLEA arrests bandits’ drug provider in Niger, uncovers codeine syrup manufacturing facility in Abia
The Nationwide Drug Regulation Enforcement Company has arrested a suspected main provider of illicit medication to bandits working in Niger State and uncovered a clandestine codeine syrup manufacturing manufacturing facility in Abia State throughout coordinated nationwide operations.
The company disclosed this in an announcement issued on Sunday, December 14, 2025, by its Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, on the NDLEA headquarters in Abuja.
The arrests and seizures kind a part of the company’s broader push to disrupt drug provide chains linked to violent crime, cross-border trafficking, and the home abuse of managed substances.
In line with the NDLEA, operatives arrested 33-year-old Mohammed Sani, also called Gamboli, after weeks of intelligence-led monitoring in Shiroro Native Authorities Space of Niger State.
The company stated he had earlier escaped throughout a raid on his residence on November 20, when 471.8 kilograms of skunk have been recovered, however was ultimately arrested on December 11 at a drug joint in Kuta. Intelligence reviews described him as a significant provider of illicit medication to bandits working within the space.
In Abia State, the company stated its officers raided a clandestine codeine syrup manufacturing facility in Osisioma Native Authorities Space, the place 9,015 bottles of codeine syrup weighing about 1,152.2 kilograms have been recovered.
The company additionally recorded a number of arrests and seizures in different elements of the nation. In Enugu State, two suspects have been arrested alongside main highways with a mixed 101.8 kilograms of skunk.
In Oyo State, a raid on a infamous drug joint referred to as Beere the California led to the seizure of skunk, artificial hashish, and methamphetamine, with one suspect arrested whereas the alleged proprietor stays at giant.
Additional operations in Ogun State resulted within the arrest of three suspects and the seizure of 98 kilograms of skunk. In Ondo State, NDLEA officers arrested a 55-year-old girl and her 29-year-old son in Ogbese, Akure North Native Authorities Space, the place 1,187 kilograms of skunk and its seeds have been recovered.
Past enforcement, the NDLEA stated its instructions throughout the nation continued Struggle Towards Drug Abuse sensitisation actions through the week. These included lectures in secondary faculties in Katsina, Kano, Benue, and advocacy visits to conventional establishments, together with the Enugu State Council of Conventional Rulers.
The Chairman and Chief Government Officer of NDLEA, Brigadier Normal Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd), recommended officers throughout the varied instructions for his or her operations and urged them to maintain the company’s balanced strategy to drug management efforts nationwide
What you must know
The NDLEA has not too long ago continued to step up enforcement efforts towards illicit medication throughout the nation, reflecting broader developments in Nigeria’s battle with narcotics provide and abuse. In late November, the company reported recovering an estimated N6.7 billion value of tramadol tablets and codeine syrups throughout a focused sting operation in Lagos, underscoring the size of opioid trafficking challenges it faces.
Earlier in November, the company additionally intercepted 20 kilograms of cocaine hidden on a vessel certain for Brazil on the Apapa port in Lagos in collaboration with different safety companions, displaying the worldwide dimensions of its interdiction work.