Court Orders Forfeiture of ₦33.6 Billion Opioids Intercepted at Onne Port
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has secured a major legal victory in its crackdown on international drug syndicates. The Federal High Court in Port Harcourt has granted an interim forfeiture order for 17 containers laden with illicit opioids, valued at a staggering ₦33.69 billion in street value.
The forfeiture order was issued by Justice Adamu Turaki Mohammed following an ex-parte motion filed by the NDLEA on February 10, 2026. In his ruling, Justice Adamu ordered that the 17 shipping containers, which hold a combined 365,657kg of various psychotropic substances, be forfeited to the Federal Government. The court also vested the custody and possession of the seized items in the NDLEA until the final determination of the suit.
The massive haul was the result of a series of high-stakes interceptions at the Port Harcourt Ports Complex in Onne, Rivers State, spanning from April 2025 to September 2025. The seized inventory includes 19.6 million pills of highly addictive substances such as Tramadol, Tafrodol, Tapentadol, and Carisoprodol. Additionally, officers recovered 2.49 million bottles of Codeine syrup, marking one of the largest concentrated seizures at a single port in recent history.
Reacting to the court’s decision, the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), described the forfeiture as a "death knell" for the financial operations of the cartels involved. Marwa emphasized that the order represents more than just a seizure; it is a total dispossession of the resources criminal syndicates intended to use to fund further criminality and terrorism across Nigeria. "By stripping these syndicates of assets worth over ₦33.6 billion, we have struck at the heart of their operations," Marwa stated.
The NDLEA Chairman also took the opportunity to laud the Nigerian Judiciary for its timely intervention and the officers of the Onne Port Command for their professional integrity and vigilance. He further acknowledged the critical cooperation of the Nigeria Customs Service and international partners, whose intelligence sharing remains a cornerstone of the agency's ability to dismantle sophisticated drug networks.
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