Court orders forfeiture of luxury cars, cash, as agency intensifies crackdown on international cartels
Five members of two international drug trafficking networks have been sentenced to a combined 21 years in prison for attempting to export cocaine, tramadol, and other narcotics through the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos.
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), in a statement signed by its Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, confirmed that the convictions followed separate arrests made by its operatives during operations between July and August 2025.
In the first case, Olasupo Michael Oladimeji, Muaezee Ademola Ogunbiyi, and Sola Adegoke were convicted for concealing 17.9 kilograms of cocaine inside textile materials and local charms bound for Sydney, Australia. NDLEA officers intercepted the shipment at the airport’s export shed on August 26, 2025, which led to further discoveries.
A follow-up search at Ogunbiyi’s residence in Lekki uncovered 20.5 kilograms of Canadian Loud, a potent strain of cannabis, while a black Range Rover SUV (RBC 459 EJ) was seized from Adegoke’s home in Ikeja GRA.
The trio were arraigned before Justice Musa Kakaki of the Federal High Court, Lagos, under charge number FHC/L/925C/2025, and on October 30, 2025, pleaded guilty to five counts. In his judgment the next day, Justice Kakaki sentenced each to five years imprisonment without an option of fine, bringing the total sentence to 15 years, and ordered that the vehicles be forfeited to the Federal Government.
In a separate bust, NDLEA operatives arrested Obunike Joseph Obichukwu and Uzorchukwu Godspower Chukwurah for attempting to traffic 2.6 kilograms of cocaine and 27.9 kilograms of tramadol concealed in motor spare parts to Gabon.
Both men were arraigned before Justice Ambrose Lewis-Allagoa of the Federal High Court, Lagos, under charge number FHC/L/980C/2025. They pleaded guilty and were sentenced on November 4, 2025, to three years imprisonment each, or a ₦2 million fine in lieu of jail. The court also ordered the forfeiture of ₦4 million, which one of the convicts had offered as a bribe to NDLEA officers.
According to Babafemi, the convictions reflect the agency’s determination to dismantle drug cartels operating within and outside Nigeria.
“These successful prosecutions send a strong message that the NDLEA remains relentless in its mission to protect Nigeria from the dangers of narcotics and organized drug crime,” the statement added.
