Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have recorded major breakthroughs in ongoing nationwide anti-drug operations, arrested a China-based Nigerian businessman and two Angolan nationals who excreted a combined 236 wraps of cocaine after being intercepted at airports in Abuja and Kano.
The arrests were disclosed on Sunday by NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, who detailed a series of coordinated operations that also uncovered drug consignments concealed in food items, children’s toys, and a synthetic cannabis production facility in Lagos.
According to Babafemi, the China-based suspect, Ibeanu Vincent Chukwudulue, 34, was arrested on February 4 while boarding a Qatar Airways flight from Kano to China via Abuja and Doha. Acting on intelligence, NDLEA operatives at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport ordered his deboarding and conducted a body scan, which confirmed ingestion of illicit substances. He later excreted 52 cocaine pellets weighing 735.95 grams while under observation. The suspect reportedly operated a business on Lagos Island before relocating to Guangzhou, China, in 2024.
On the same day, two Angolan nationals — Mbandu Martins Makiadi, 50, and Ngoma Wilson Fernando, 52 were intercepted at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport during clearance for a flight to Istanbul via Addis Ababa. Body scans confirmed drug ingestion, leading to monitored excretions during which Makiadi expelled 76 wraps weighing 920 grams, while Fernando excreted 108 pellets weighing 1.33 kilograms. The suspects claimed they were recruited by an automobile spare parts dealer in Luanda with a promise of $3,000 payment each upon successful delivery in Turkey.
In another development, NDLEA operatives at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, foiled an attempt by a convicted drug kingpin, Olashupo Michael Oladimeji, to export 1.10 kilograms of cocaine to London from prison custody. Oladimeji, currently serving a five-year jail term at Ikoyi Correctional Centre following a 2025 conviction for cocaine trafficking, allegedly coordinated the shipment using his logistics company from behind bars.
The cocaine, concealed inside processed cassava granules (garri), was intercepted at the airport export shed on February 12. A staff member of the logistics firm, Adedeji Yusuf Gbolahan, who presented the consignment for export, was arrested, while investigations revealed the operation was directed remotely by the jailed kingpin.
NDLEA also frustrated another export attempt involving 1.70 kilograms of skunk hidden inside five jerry cans destined for the United Kingdom. The cargo agent who presented the shipment was arrested, while a follow-up operation led to the arrest of the alleged owner, estate surveyor Adelaja Taiwo Adetayo, in Lagos.
In Abuja, officers intercepted a parcel from Enugu containing a children’s toy guitar used to conceal two parcels of “Canadian Loud,” a potent strain of cannabis weighing 59.2 grams. A follow-up raid led to the arrest of the consignee, Henry Onuma, at Life Camp.
Meanwhile, a raid on a four-bedroom duplex in Ikate-Elegushi, Lekki, uncovered a synthetic cannabis production facility where 13.2 kilograms of freshly produced “Colos” and precursor chemicals were recovered. The operation followed the earlier seizure of 73 cartons of nitrous oxide along the Ajah-Epe expressway. Two suspects were arrested in connection with the operation.
In Ibadan, NDLEA operatives arrested a suspected notorious drug dealer, Oluwayemisi Bunmi, recovering various narcotics including Colos, skunk, methamphetamine, ₦2.97 million cash, and two vehicles. Similarly, in Kwara State, officers intercepted 105,400 tramadol pills concealed in a vehicle at Bode Saadu.
Another major operation in Edo State led to the arrest of five suspects after NDLEA operatives raided a forest camp in Ovia North East Local Government Area, recovering 563.5 kilograms of skunk.
Beyond enforcement actions, the agency continued its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation campaigns nationwide, conducting awareness lectures in schools and communities across Oyo, Adamawa, Nasarawa, Katsina and Lagos states.
NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), commended officers across multiple commands for the successful operations and urged sustained commitment to balancing drug supply reduction with preventive education efforts nationwide.
