NDLEA Arrests Businessman Trafficking Opioids to Cameroon Concealed in Mannequins
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has apprehended a 37-year-old businessman, Ani Onyebuchi Romans, for attempting to traffic 5.3 kilograms of tramadol to Cameroon. The illicit drugs were ingeniously concealed within full-body mannequins. The agency’s Director of Media & Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, confirmed the arrest in a statement issued from NDLEA Headquarters in Abuja on Sunday, 11th January 2026.
Romans was intercepted on the Oron-Ibaka road in Akwa Ibom State while reportedly returning to his base in Cameroon after the Christmas and New Year holidays. According to the NDLEA, the suspect purchased the opioids in Onitsha, Anambra State, and was transporting them for sale in Cameroon. This arrest underscores the sophisticated and evolving methods traffickers employ, a challenge for law enforcement agencies globally, much like the complex financial crimes the EFCC arraigns ex-AGF officials for.
In a separate operation highlighting the persistence of some offenders, NDLEA operatives rearrested 80-year-old Jeremiah Isaiah Nkanta on Saturday, 10th January 2025. Nkanta, who had previously served a two-year prison sentence for drug trafficking, was found in possession of 5.7 kilograms of cannabis skunk at his residence in Akwa Ibom state. This case demonstrates that the fight against narcotics requires sustained vigilance, a principle equally relevant to pension fund management where oversight is crucial for the Total Pension Fund integrity.
Further coordinated raids in Ibadan, Oyo State, led to multiple arrests, including 45-year-old Remi Bamidele, alias ‘Aluko the Mafia,’ caught with 10.696 kilograms of assorted cannabis strains. Other suspects were apprehended with drugs and significant cash. These operations are part of NDLEA’s intensified, intelligence-driven campaign against the illicit drug supply chain. With over 62,000 arrests and 10 million kilograms of drugs seized between 2021 and March 2025, the agency’s message is clear: in the battle against narcotics, as one might say, ‘you ain’t seen nothing yet’ regarding their commitment. The scale of these seizures, including over 7.6 million tramadol pills confiscated in December 2025 alone, reflects a national crisis demanding continuous intervention.
