The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has delivered a devastating financial blow to the drug trafficking networks operating through Nigeria’s ports, securing an interim court forfeiture order that transfers full custody and control of 17 containers of illicit opioids valued at over N33.6 billion to the federal government, in what the agency described as one of the most consequential asset-stripping operations in its history and a landmark moment in Nigeria’s campaign against the cartels that had made the country a significant transit and consumption point for dangerous pharmaceutical drugs.
The ruling, delivered by Justice Adamu Turaki Mohammed of the Federal High Court sitting in Port Harcourt following a motion filed by the agency, covers 17 containers intercepted by NDLEA operatives at the Port Harcourt Ports Complex in Onne, Rivers State, across multiple separate operations conducted between April and September 2025. The sheer scale of the seizure was extraordinary, comprising 19.6 million pills of Tramadol, Tafrodol, Tapentadol, and Carisoprodol, alongside 2.49 million bottles of Codeine syrup, with a combined weight of 365,657 kilogrammes representing one of the largest single seizures of pharmaceutical opioids ever recorded in Africa.
Justice Mohammed declared the containers illegally imported consignments that had been brought into Nigeria by unidentified persons through fraudulent means, ordered NDLEA to retain physical custody and control of all exhibits until the case reached its final determination, and directed that ownership of the consignments be transferred to the federal government in the interim period, preventing any possibility of the goods being claimed or recovered by the criminal networks responsible for their importation.
NDLEA Chairman Buba Marwa described the forfeiture order as a decisive strike at the operational and financial heart of the cartels involved, arguing powerfully that stripping criminal networks of assets on this extraordinary scale went far beyond the impact of removing a single drug shipment from circulation and represented instead a comprehensive dismantling of the financial infrastructure that sustained their operations.
“This is not just a seizure; it is a total dispossession of resources meant to fuel destruction, addiction, and criminality. By stripping these syndicates of assets worth over N33.6 billion, we have struck at the very core of their operations. We have made it clear that Nigeria will not be a safe haven for drug trafficking and that the proceeds of this trade will be taken from those who profit from the suffering of our people,” Marwa said.
He praised NDLEA officers at the Onne Port Command for the vigilance, professionalism, and sustained operational focus that had produced the series of interceptions over the six-month period, acknowledged the critical intelligence-sharing and technical assistance provided by the Nigeria Customs Service and international partner agencies, and commended the judiciary for the timeliness of its intervention in granting the forfeiture order. He reaffirmed the agency’s resolve to maintain and intensify its pressure on drug trafficking networks and to pursue every legal avenue available to strip criminal organisations of the financial resources they needed to sustain their operations.
