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‘We’ll continue to dismantle drug cartels and their financial spine,’ Marwa vows
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has publicly destroyed 329,865.585 kilogrammes of assorted illicit drugs, with an estimated street value of N301,058,076,000, in a court-ordered exercise carried out in Lagos.
The exercise, conducted pursuant to orders of the Federal High Court, Lagos Judicial Division, disposed of uncontested concluded cases and abandoned seizures. Of the total consignment, 246,864.535 kilogrammes were seized by the Lagos Strategic Command of the Agency between April 2025 and May 2026, while 83,001.05 kilogrammes came from the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Tin Can and Apapa Strategic Commands, as well as the Marine Command and a Special Operations Unit, all operating within Lagos.
The destroyed drugs comprised mainly cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, cannabis of different strains, including Canadian Loud and skunk, ephedrine, tramadol, codeine syrup and other opioids, as well as khat leaf.
Speaking at the event held at Navy Town in the Ojo area of Lagos on Monday, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Marwa (retd), described the exercise as a bold demonstration of Nigeria’s resolve to protect its people and deny criminal enterprises the resources they need to thrive.
He noted that behind every kilogramme of narcotics destroyed lies a story of a young life at risk, a family torn apart by addiction, and communities endangered by drug-related crime and impaired driving.
Marwa said the destroyed consignment represented more than the elimination of contraband, stressing that illicit drugs weaken the labour force, raise healthcare costs, discourage investment and drain public resources that should go into education, healthcare and infrastructure.
He added that every consignment intercepted by the Agency saves the country billions of naira in potential losses linked to addiction, crime and social dislocation.
The NDLEA boss also linked the drug trade to Nigeria’s broader security challenges, noting that drug trafficking helps fund organised crime, terrorism and violent extremism globally, and that seizing and destroying such substances strengthens the country’s national security architecture.
He commended President Bola Tinubu’s administration for its strategic backing of the Agency’s mandate, as well as the partnership of the Judiciary, the Lagos State Government, the military, sister security agencies, international partners, civil society, traditional institutions, the media and members of the public.
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He also paid tribute to NDLEA personnel across the country, particularly those serving in Lagos, for the risks and sacrifices they make in the course of duty.
Issuing a stern warning to drug barons, traffickers, financiers, distributors and dealers, Marwa declared that their days of operating with impunity were over. “Wherever you hide, whoever sponsors you and however sophisticated your network may be, the long arm of the law will reach you,” he said, vowing that the Agency remained resolute, relentless and uncompromising in pursuing and dismantling every criminal network and its financial spine.
He called on all Nigerians, parents, schools, religious and traditional leaders, and the media to become active stakeholders in the war against illicit drugs, stressing that the battle cannot be won by the NDLEA alone.
Speaking at the ceremony, Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Mrs Bimbola Salu-Hundeyin, described the scale of destruction, about 300 tons of narcotics and psychotropic substances, as a sobering reminder of the threat illicit drugs pose to communities, young people and the state’s collective future.
He said the exercise also demonstrated what becomes possible when law enforcement, the judiciary and government work together, not merely to enforce the law but to uphold justice and protect society. He assured that Lagos State remains unwavering in its resolve to confront drug abuse and trafficking.
In his goodwill message, Comptroller-General of Customs Bashir Adewale Adeniyi said the NDLEA deserved the accolades it had received from local and international partners, noting that the exercise reflected the scope of operations conducted across the country’s seaports, airports and land borders, and sent a strong message that drug dealers were no longer welcome in Nigeria.
He pointed to a nexus between drug trafficking and violent non-state actors, noting that bandits, kidnappers, armed robbers, insurgents and terrorists rely on the drug trade as a source of funding. The destruction exercise, he said, was symbolic both of the billions in investment that drug dealers stand to lose and of the Agency’s efforts to deny violent non-state actors the resources they need to sustain their activities.
He commended the NDLEA chairman and officers across the Agency’s commands for the operation.
The Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Idi Abbas, represented by the Flag Officer Commanding Western Naval Command, Rear Admiral Abdullahi Mustapha, assured of the Navy’s continued support for Nigeria’s drug control efforts under NDLEA coordination.
