The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intensified its crackdown on narcotics trafficking, announcing a string of successful operations that led to the arrest of a notorious kingpin and the interception of illicit shipments ingeniously hidden in food items.
In a major breakthrough, operatives captured Okpara Chigozie, a 60‑year‑old suspected leader of a major drug cartel who had been on the run since 2019.
NDLEA officers tracked him down to his hideout on Michael Ojo Street, Isheri, Ojo, Lagos, following intelligence gathered after the interception of a white Toyota Sienna loaded with his illicit cargo.
NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi disclosed that the vehicle, which was heading to Onitsha, Anambra State, was intercepted at about 5:45 a.m. on Sunday, July 13, along the Ilasamaja axis of the Apapa‑Oshodi Expressway.
The agency also revealed that the operation extended to a Lagos hotel, where further raids were conducted as part of efforts to dismantle the cartel’s network.
The statement partly read, “Operatives of a special operations unit of the NDLEA have arrested a wanted 60-year-old drug kingpin, Okpara Paul Chigozie, ending seven years of evading the long arm of the law, even as he was caught attempting to ship large quantities of cocaine and methamphetamine to the Southeast and other parts of the country.
“Okpara, who has been on the wanted list of NDLEA since 2019, was eventually nabbed at his hideout at 72 Micheal Ojo Street, Isheri in Ojo area of Lagos state on Sunday, 13th July 2025, following the interception of some of his consignments at 5:45 am on the same day at Ilasamaja along Apapa-Oshodi expressway.
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“In the early morning operation, a team of NDLEA officers acting on credible intelligence arrested one of Okparas’ couriers, 51-year-old Achebe Kenneth Nnamdi, while heading to Onitsha, Anambra state, in a white Toyota Sienna vehicle.
“The agency’s sniffer dogs were subsequently brought in to search the vehicle, after which 7.6 kilograms of cocaine and 900 grams of methamphetamine were found hidden in the body compartments of the space bus.
“A follow-up operation was promptly carried out at Okparas’ hideout in Isheri, where an additional 1.8kg of cocaine and 1.3kg of methamphetamine were recovered from his residence.
“In another arrest at the Lagos airport, NDLEA operatives at the export shed on Thursday, 17th July intercepted 17 parcels of skunk, a strain of cannabis, weighing 1.70kg concealed in packs of popular cereal, Golden Morn, going to Pakistan as part of a consolidated cargo.
“A suspect, Chioba Robert Uchenna, who presented the consignment for shipment was arrested.”
