A ‘drug kingpin’, identified as Okpara Paul Chigozie, has been arrested by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) after evading capture for seven years.
It was learnt that the 60-year-old suspect was caught with 11.6 kilograms of hard drugs, including cocaine and methamphetamine, at his hideout in Lagos.
NDLEA spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, in a statement on Sunday, said the breakthrough came on Sunday, July 13, 2025, after NDLEA operatives intercepted one of Okpara’s drug couriers, Achebe Kenneth Nnamdi, 51, at around 5:45 a.m. along the Apapa-Oshodi Expressway in Ilasamaja, Lagos.
He explained that Achebe, who was on his way to Onitsha, Anambra State, was arrested while transporting illicit drugs concealed in a white Toyota Sienna.
He added that sniffer dogs deployed during the search uncovered 7.6kg of cocaine and 900g of methamphetamine, expertly hidden in the vehicle’s body compartments.
The statement partly reads: “Operatives of a special operations unit of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a wanted 60-year-old drug kingpin, Okpara Paul Chigozie, ending seven years of evading the long arm of the law, even as he was caught attempting to ship large quantities of cocaine and methamphetamine to the Southeast and other parts of the country.
“Okpara, who has been on the wanted list of the NDLEA since 2019, was eventually nabbed at his hideout at 72 Michael Ojo Street, Isheri, in the Ojo area of Lagos State on Sunday, 13th July 2025, following the interception of some of his consignments at 5:45 a.m. the same day at Ilasamaja, along the Apapa-Oshodi Expressway.
“In the early morning operation, a team of NDLEA officers, acting on credible intelligence, arrested one of Okpara’s couriers, 51-year-old Achebe Kenneth Nnamdi, while heading to Onitsha, Anambra State, in a white Toyota Sienna vehicle.
“The agency’s sniffer dogs were subsequently brought in to search the vehicle, after which 7.6 kilograms of cocaine and 900 grams of methamphetamine were found hidden in the body compartments of the space bus. A follow-up operation was promptly carried out at Okpara’s hideout in Isheri, where an additional 1.8kg of cocaine and 1.3kg of methamphetamine were recovered from his residence.”
