Seven-year cat-and-mouse game ends as agency smashes major trafficking network
Lagos, Nigeria – After seven years of playing hide-and-seek with authorities, notorious drug kingpin Okpara Paul Chigozie finally ran out of places to hide. The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) caught the 60-year-old trafficker at his Lagos hideout, ending one of Nigeria’s longest-running manhunts while uncovering a web of seizures that span multiple states.
The Hunt Comes to an End
The breakthrough came when sharp-eyed operatives spotted something suspicious about a Toyota Sienna at Ilasamaja. Inside, they discovered 7.6kg of cocaine and 900g of methamphetamine enough evidence to lead them straight to Chigozie’s doorstep in Isheri, Lagos.
“A follow-up operation led to the recovery of an additional 1.8kg of cocaine and 1.3kg of meth from his residence,” revealed NDLEA spokesman Femi Babafemi, painting a picture of a major operation finally crumbling.
For nearly a decade, Chigozie had been flooding the Southeast and other regions with illegal substances, always staying one step ahead of the law. Not anymore.
Airport Drama and Hotel Raids
Meanwhile, at Murtala Muhammed International Airport, officers were busy stopping drugs from leaving Nigerian shores. They caught an Italy-bound passenger red-handed with 7,790 pills of tramadol and rohypnol – drugs he planned to sell overseas for serious profit.
Another traveler, Chioba Robert Uchenna, thought he was clever hiding 1.7kg of cannabis in innocent-looking cereal packs bound for Pakistan. He thought wrong.
The drama continued at Sarah Sam Hotels in Lagos, where what appeared to be a regular family business was actually fronting a party drug operation. Obayemi Oyetade found himself in handcuffs with 1.3kg of chocolate cannabis, while three vehicles got tagged as evidence.
Nationwide Net Tightens
The dragnet spread far beyond Lagos. Across nine states Kaduna, Kano, Gombe, Borno, Bayelsa, Kogi, Abia, Enugu, and Taraba similar stories played out.
One particularly striking arrest involved a 63-year-old grandmother in Bayelsa caught with 163 litres of illegal liquor. In Borno, officers seized over 74,000 opioid pills in a single operation.
Each arrest tells a story of lives derailed by the drug trade, from kingpins to grandmothers.
Fighting on Multiple Fronts
NDLEA Chairman Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa praised his teams for striking the right balance between stopping drug supplies and reducing demand through education.
The agency’s War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) campaign continues reaching schools nationwide, trying to win hearts and minds before drugs can take hold.
As Chigozie sits in custody after seven years of freedom, his arrest sends a clear message: you can run, but the law will eventually catch up.
By Abiodun Labi
