The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has announced plans to establish full-scale anti-narcotic operations at the Benin Airport in Edo State as part of a broader crackdown on drug trafficking through Nigeria’s air routes.
Commander of NDLEA in Edo, Mitchell Ofoyeju, revealed the development on Wednesday in Benin City, following a strategic security meeting with the General Manager of the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Mr Akinbinu Felix.
He said: “The command’s grand strategy is to make Edo State impregnable to drug cartels by air, water, and land.”
He also said the planned deployment of NDLEA personnel to the airport would enable early detection, tighter surveillance, and swift interdiction of narcotics before they reach end users or escape into wider circulation.
The NDLEA boss described drug trafficking as a deeply entrenched threat to public health and economic stability, stressing that air transport corridors had become increasingly attractive to criminal syndicates.
“What we are doing at Benin Airport is a continuation of our agency’s broader national push to dismantle drug networks and choke their supply routes,” he said.
Ofoyeju also highlighted the agency’s ongoing operations including:, Destruction of cannabis plantations, Crackdown on methamphetamine labs,
Rehabilitation programmes for addicts, Public education campaigns under the War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) initiative
He disclosed that NDLEA had introduced at-home counselling and voluntary drug testing services, adding that the agency now operates a toll-free hotline for individuals in need of support or to report drug-related crimes.
Welcoming the initiative, FAAN’s General Manager, Mr Akinbinu Felix, commended the NDLEA’s proactive approach and pledged the agency’s full cooperation to secure the airport.
“The fight against drug trafficking cannot be won by one agency alone. It requires a united front,” Felix said, noting that he had worked with NDLEA officers during his tenure at Port Harcourt Airport and had confidence in their competence.
In appreciation, Ofoyeju presented Felix with an NDLEA souvenir and decorated him as an official War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) partner, sealing the beginning of a new era of airspace-based narcotics enforcement in Edo.
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