The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intercepted the lethal terror drug, Captagon, in Kwara State.

The latest confiscation occurs five years after the substance, an amphetamine-type stimulant, was first seized on the African continent.

According to the agency, Captagon is a small, highly addictive tablet that is prevalent throughout the Middle East. It induces intense euphoria, enables users to remain awake for several days, eliminates fear, and drives them towards reckless behaviour that endangers those nearby.

The NDLEA noted that militias and major criminal syndicates with ties to the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) control its manufacture and distribution. These groups utilise the drug to finance arms and fighters, whilst also administering it as a combat stimulant.

Agency spokesperson Femi Babafemi disclosed that the recent haul of Captagon, which commands a street price of up to $25 per tablet, was uncovered on Tuesday, 21 April 2026. Operatives on patrol along Bode Saadu Road in Kwara State stopped a passenger trailer during the operation.

Babafemi said, "A search conducted on one of the passengers, 33-year-old Nasiru Mu’azu led to the recovery of 10 packs of captagon consisting of 10,000 pills and nine packets of Tapentadol 250mg."

During a separate interdiction at the Bode Saadu checkpoint on Friday, 24 April, officers halted a trailer bearing registration number RMY-70XA. A thorough inspection uncovered 155,900 tramadol capsules, 6,000 ampoules of tramadol injection, 3,000 Co-Codamol tablets and 9,000 Bromazepam tablets, all hidden within a secretly constructed compartment beneath the vehicle.

A 24-year-old suspect, Aminu Isah, has been arrested in connection with the confiscation.

Meanwhile, operatives in Oyo State stopped a commercial bus registered as MNA 963 ZY on Tuesday, 21 April, at Akinyele along the Ibadan-Oyo Expressway whilst it was travelling to Sokoto. A 33-year-old passenger, Eze Prince Emeka, was disembarked and subjected to a body scan, which confirmed he had swallowed illicit substances.

The suspect, who identified himself as a Sokoto-based businessman, was placed under strict excretion monitoring. He subsequently expelled 45 cocaine pellets weighing 1.043 kilogrammes across three separate bowel movements.

Investigations revealed that the suspect opted for road travel to avoid NDLEA screening at airports. Upon reaching Sokoto, he intended to expel the pellets, rest briefly, and then swallow them again to proceed via trans-Saharan routes, using Algeria as a transit hub before potentially reaching Europe.