Indian Businessman, Three Others Arrested After N3.9 Billion Tramadol Seized at Lagos Airport
In connection with the seizure of 2,248,000 tramadol 200mg/225mg pills intercepted at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) in Ikeja, Lagos, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) agents have arrested an Indian businessman, Gupta Ravi Kumar, and three Nigerian accomplices, Ogunlana Noah Olanrewaju, Olushola Idrees Kayode, and Bakare Korede Muheeb.
On Monday, September 8, 2025, a consignment of tramadol, valued at N3,990,000,000 in street value, arrived at the Lagos airport’s import shed on an Ethiopian Airline flight from Delhi, India. The shipment was disguised as multivitamins in 114 boxes.
On Thursday, September 11, however, a group of NDLEA officers who had placed the shipment under observation ambushed a clearing agent and two drivers who were attempting to transport the shipment out of the airport in two trucks.
Gupta Ravi Kumar, an Indian businessman, was arrested during a follow-up operation on Friday as he attempted to accept receipt of the shipment.
On Sunday, September 7, NDLEA officers stopped Onyeganochi Stanley Ifeanyi, a traveler on a Qatar Airline trip to Doha, at the airport’s terminal 2 departure gate. 900 grams of skunk, a cannabis strain hidden in crayfish, were found when his suitcase was searched. Onyeganochi, a first-time traveler, stated that Ohadiegwu Anthony Uchenna, a Nigerian living in Qatar, gave him the suitcase to assist him in carrying to Doha and even accompanied him to the airport.
Uchenna, who was still in sight, was arrested as a result of his confession. 200 more grams of the same psychoactive material were found by investigators who subsequently searched Uchenna’s hotel room in Ajao Estate. He stated that if he had managed to evade security checks, he would have to go back to Doha a few days later and retrieve the bag from the unwary Onyeganochi.
