The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a Brazil-based Nigerian businessman, Uche Franklin Onyekwere, for attempting to smuggle cocaine into the country by concealing the drug in his private parts and the soles of his footwear.
Onyekwere, 47, was apprehended on Thursday, January 29, 2026, at the arrival hall of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos, during the inward clearance of passengers on a South African Airways flight from Brazil via Johannesburg.
According to a statement signed by the Director of Media and Advocacy of the NDLEA, Mr. Femi Babafemi, operatives acted on credible intelligence and subjected the suspect to a body scan, which confirmed illicit drug concealment.
A subsequent strip search led to the recovery of a large wrap of cocaine tied to his right thigh, while two additional wraps were found hidden in the soles of his shoes. In total, three wraps weighing 1.60 kilograms tested positive for cocaine.
During interrogation, the suspect disclosed that he purchased the drugs in Brazil with plans to resell them in Nigeria to raise capital for his business and finance the naming ceremony of his newborn child. He said he had lived in São Paulo since 2008 and had been running a toy business for nine years.
Meanwhile, at the Tincan Seaport in Lagos, NDLEA officers, in collaboration with Customs and other security agencies, intercepted 55 jumbo bags of Canadian Loud cannabis weighing 1,183 kilograms. The drugs, imported from Montreal, Canada, were concealed inside two vehicles a Hyundai SUV and a Toyota Matrix hidden in a container.
In Niger State, operatives intercepted a truck along the Dei-Dei–Abuja Expressway on January 26 and arrested three suspects—Andy Chidogu, Kenneth Ogene, and Sadiq Olanrewaju—for transporting 176 bags of skunk weighing 2,735kg and 1kg of Colorado synthetic cannabis
In Edo State, NDLEA officers arrested Shaibu Yusuf with 66 bags of skunk concealed in charcoal bags, weighing 792kg, and also destroyed over 4,063kg of cannabis at Ebora Camp, Ilushi, where four suspects were arrested.
In Anambra State, a cement truck intercepted at Upper Iweka, Onitsha, was found to be concealing 345.2kg of skunk, leading to the arrest of Abum Okeke.
In Ondo State, two suspects were arrested in connection with the seizure of 473kg of skunk, while in Kano, operatives recovered 12,500 ampoules of pentazocine injection and 4,390 pills of tramadol from two suspects.
Further arrests were recorded in Lagos and at the Seme border, where suspects were caught with various quantities of skunk concealed in luggage, sound systems, and cereal packs.
In total, the agency seized over 9,939 kilograms of Loud, Colorado, and skunk cannabis across Lagos, Niger, Edo, Anambra, Ondo, and Kano States.
Beyond enforcement, NDLEA continued its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitization campaigns in schools, religious centres, workplaces, and communities nationwide.
Commending the officers involved in the operations, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), praised their professionalism and urged them to sustain the agency’s balanced approach to drug supply and demand reduction.
