The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has recorded major breakthroughs in its nationwide crackdown on drug trafficking, arresting two brothers John Abugu, 43, and Kenneth Abugu, 31 at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos, for attempting to smuggle 5 kilograms of cocaine to India.
The suspects were apprehended on Thursday, April 3, 2025, during a special operation based on credible intelligence. The illicit drug was ingeniously concealed within the walls of their suitcases. The duo claimed to be travelling for medical reasons.
On the same day, NDLEA officers at the MMIA Strategic Command arrested a 20-year-old Ghanaian-British national, Parker Darren Hazekia Osei, who arrived from Bangkok, Thailand, aboard an Ethiopian Airlines flight. He was caught with 36 parcels of Loud, a potent cannabis strain, weighing 19.40kg hidden in a large travelling bag. The suspect, a self-proclaimed Computer Science student at East London University, admitted he picked up the consignment in Bangkok for delivery in Nigeria.
In Kogi State, a 33-year-old woman, Ngozi Ogili, was arrested on March 31 while transporting 3kg of methamphetamine from Lagos to Abuja in a commercial bus along the Okene-Lokoja highway. A follow-up operation in Abuja’s Apo Mechanic area led to the discovery of quantities of Loud and Colorado, both synthetic cannabis variants.
In Abia State, operatives arrested a 75-year-old man, Nna Nnanna Felix, with 1.6kg of skunk during a raid in Umunteke Asa, Ukwa West LGA, on April 5. Another suspect, David Chinemerem, 21, was nabbed with 2,050 ampoules of pentazocine in Aba on April 1.
Similarly, 381 bottles of codeine syrup and 108 tramadol tablets were seized from Abdullahi Adamu in Yobe State on April 5. In Anambra State, raids on Osogbo Motor Park, Onitsha, and a residence in Oba, Idemili LGA, led to the arrest of Obinna Sunday and the seizure of 195,000 tramadol pills. Another suspect, Ugochukwu Ojalanonye, was found with 4.2kg of codeine syrup and 5.4kg of pentazocine.
In Abuja, NDLEA operatives arrested 51-year-old Sunday Ayogu with 25kg of skunk and 90.4g of methamphetamine during a raid on Wuse Market. A day later, two women, Faith Effiong Etim, 64, and Victoria Asuquo Etim, 40, were apprehended during a joint operation with the Nigerian Army in Esuk-Odot, Odukpani LGA, Cross River State. Over 250,000kg of cannabis cultivated on more than 100 hectares were destroyed.
Meanwhile, the agency sustained its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) campaign, conducting sensitization programmes in schools, communities, and worship centres, including Cave City Secondary School, Ogidi, Anambra State; Dan’iyau Village, Batagarawa LGA, Katsina State; and among medicine dealers in Sangere and Kwanan Waya, Yola, Adamawa State.
Chairman/Chief Executive of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), commended the officers for their efforts, emphasizing the importance of the agency’s dual approach in reducing both drug supply and demand across the country.
