The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a Brazil-based Nigerian businessman, Abugu Oliver Ikechukwu, for allegedly importing 6.10 kilograms of liquid cocaine concealed in shirts and towels from Brazil into Nigeria.
According to a statement issued on Sunday by the agency’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, the 41-year-old suspect was apprehended by NDLEA operatives at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, on June 11 after arriving from São Paulo, Brazil, via Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, aboard an Ethiopian Airlines flight.
Babafemi said a thorough search of the suspect’s luggage uncovered 14 shirts and towels impregnated with liquid cocaine, which had been dried and carefully ironed to evade detection. During interrogation, Abugu reportedly claimed he had lived in Brazil for over 14 years, where he operates an African restaurant, adding that he travelled to Nigeria to visit his wife and purchase food items for his business.
In separate operations, NDLEA arrested two persons living with disabilities for alleged involvement in drug trafficking. A 60-year-old woman, Chidimma Sunday, was arrested in Isialangwa North Local Government Area of Abia State after being found with 1.8 kilograms of skunk. She was initially apprehended by a local vigilante group before being handed over to NDLEA officers.
Similarly, a 28-year-old man, Abubakar Usman, was arrested in Rumuokoro, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, during a raid that led to the recovery of 400 grams of skunk, five grams of methamphetamine, 100 grams of tramadol, five grams of swinol and 18 grams of diazepam.
In Delta State, NDLEA operatives arrested 36-year-old Onya Jude at Ogwashi-Uku, where five gas cylinders used to conceal 2.8 kilograms of Loud, a potent strain of cannabis, were recovered.
The agency also arrested two suspected drug dealers, Jamilu Idris, popularly known as Jama, and Aminu Abdullahi, alias Momo, in Gombe State. The suspects were found with 2.738 kilograms of skunk concealed in three large blocks.
In Kano State, operatives intercepted Ngozi Gaius, 39, along the Zaria-Kano Road with 6,000 pills of tramadol 225mg. Meanwhile, two suspects, Nasiru Hamza, 47, and Muhammad Sani, 38, were arrested along the Bode Saadu Road in Kwara State while transporting 600 compressed blocks of skunk weighing 304 kilograms in a Toyota Jeep.
A major operation in Taraba State led to the recovery of 1,121.5 kilograms of cannabis sativa from a warehouse belonging to a suspected drug dealer, Ali Adamu, in Maihula village, Bali Local Government Area.
In the Federal Capital Territory, NDLEA officers arrested Emmanuel Nnadi, 46, along the Gwagwalada Expressway and recovered 30,400 tramadol pills, 750 pregabalin capsules, 200 pills of molly and 592 bottles of codeine-based syrup.
The agency also seized a massive consignment of Ghana Loud weighing 1,102 kilograms around the Alaba International Market area of Ojo, Lagos.
Beyond enforcement activities, NDLEA said its commands across the country intensified drug abuse awareness campaigns under its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) initiative. Sensitisation programmes were held in schools and communities across Nasarawa, Enugu, Lagos, Kano and Anambra states, while the Rivers State Command engaged traditional rulers in anti-drug advocacy efforts.
Commending officers involved in the operations, NDLEA Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), praised the agency’s success in balancing drug supply reduction efforts with public enlightenment campaigns and urged personnel nationwide to sustain the momentum.
