The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intensified its clampdown on drug traffickers, intercepting massive consignments of narcotics and arrested multiple suspects, including two Brazil returnees who excreted heroin and cocaine, as well as a businesswoman who concealed methamphetamine in her underwear.
At the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, NDLEA operatives placed Ofoma Sunday, 46, under observation after a body scan confirmed ingestion of illicit drugs upon his arrival from Brazil on 16th September. Over eight excretion sessions, he expelled 111 wraps of heroin weighing 1.452kg. A follow-up operation at a hotel in Amuwo Odofin led to the arrest of Nweke Jude Chukwudi, 55, who was assigned to recover the consignment.
Similarly, another Brazil returnee, Ukachukwu Frank Ikechukwu, was arrested on 19th September during inward clearance of Ethiopian Airlines passengers. Under observation, he expelled five wraps of cocaine weighing 145 grams. He confessed to inserting nine wraps of the drug in Brazil but flushed two during transit in Addis Ababa after experiencing severe pain, while another two slipped out mid-flight.
In a separate operation on 14th September, Aviation Security officers of FAAN, working with NDLEA operatives, arrested Okolonkwo Ebere Theresa at Terminal 2 of the Lagos airport while she attempted to board a Qatar Airways flight to Doha. She was found with 1.40kg of methamphetamine hidden in butt pad underwear.
At the NAHCO export shed of the Lagos airport, NDLEA operatives intercepted a consignment of food items containing 2.30kg of methamphetamine bound for Hong Kong on 15th September. Umelo Ifeanyi Venatus, 59, who presented the cargo, was arrested. Days later, another shipment of phone chargers destined for New Zealand was discovered to conceal 257 grams of cocaine.
The agency also recorded major breakthroughs outside Lagos. In Adamawa State, a total of 233,800 tramadol pills were recovered in three separate raids, including 195,600 pills abandoned in a Toyota Sienna vehicle in Mayo Belwa. Two suspects, Rita Zira and Halilu Abubakar, 22, were also arrested with thousands of opioid pills.
In Zamfara State, NDLEA operatives, supported by Community Protection Guards, seized 1,099.4kg of cannabis skunk from a truck along Gummi–Daki Takwas road. In Yobe, two suspects were caught with 14,000 tramadol capsules, while in Taraba, a 28-year-old man was nabbed with 25.5kg of skunk.
In Edo State, officers destroyed two cannabis farms covering 4.5 hectares with an estimated yield of over 11,000kg, and recovered additional processed skunk. Three suspects were arrested at the plantations.
NDLEA Chairman/Chief Executive, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), commended the officers for their diligence, described the seizures as “a significant milestone in dismantling drug trafficking networks targeting Nigeria’s youth.” He urged operatives nationwide to sustain the momentum in the ongoing War Against Drug Abuse (WADA).
