Atlantic Post

Nigerian Army intercepts illicit drug truck on Lagos-Calabar Road

Nigerian Army troops have intercepted a truck carrying suspected illicit drugs on the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Road, arrested the driver and handed both the suspect and the recovered substances to the NDLEA for investigation and possible prosecution.

Atlantic Post

July 12, 2026

2–3 minutes

Drug Trafficking, Illicit Drugs, Lagos-Calabar Coastal Road, National Security, NDLEA, Nigerian Army

LAGOS, Nigeria — Troops of the Nigerian Army’s 65 Battalion have intercepted a truck conveying a large consignment of suspected illicit drugs along the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Road, arresting the driver and handing the suspect, alongside the recovered substances, to the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, for further investigation.

The operation was carried out on 9 July 2026 after the soldiers received actionable intelligence from a credible source, according to the Army.

The Acting Deputy Director of Army Public Relations, 81 Division Nigerian Army, Lieutenant Colonel Musa Yahaya, said the interception was the result of an intelligence-led operation.

He said the consignment was believed to have been headed to the Berger area of Lagos State, but the driver could not give a satisfactory account of the ownership of the drugs or identify the intended recipient.

The Army said the suspect and the recovered substances were later handed over to the Lagos State Command of the NDLEA by the Commanding Officer of the 65 Battalion, Lieutenant Colonel S. Adeojo.

In the Army’s assessment, the handover was part of standard procedure once operational control had been secured and the evidence preserved for possible prosecution.

Major General Adebayo Babalola, the General Officer Commanding 81 Division Nigerian Army, commended the troops for their “vigilance, professionalism and operational effectiveness”, urging them to sustain the pressure on traffickers and other criminal groups operating within the division’s area of responsibility.

The Army also restated its commitment to supporting other security agencies in the fight against drug trafficking and related crime.

The seizure adds to the broader pattern of anti-narcotics operations being recorded across Nigeria, where security agencies and the NDLEA have stepped up arrests, seizures and prosecutions against drug networks moving cocaine, cannabis, methamphetamine and opioid-based pharmaceuticals through ports, highways and border corridors.

Recent high-profile cases have included a major cocaine haul at Tincan Port and a Lagos conviction involving foreign nationals and a vessel used in drug trafficking.

Security officials have repeatedly warned that traffickers exploit major transport routes to shift prohibited substances from point to point, often trying to blend in with routine commercial cargo movements. The Army’s latest interception suggests that intelligence-led checks remain one of the most effective ways to disrupt such networks before the drugs reach urban distribution centres.