Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a 62-year-old Lagos-based auto spare parts dealer, Nwabueze Nicholas Izueke, at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport (MAKIA), Kano, for attempting to smuggle cocaine to China by ingesting the drug.
Izueke was arrested on Saturday, January 31, 2026, during the outward clearance of passengers travelling to China via Addis Ababa on Ethiopian Airlines flight ET940. A body scan confirmed the presence of illicit drugs in his system, after which he was placed under excretion observation.
The suspect eventually expelled 95 jumbo-sized wraps of cocaine, weighing a total of 1.589 kilograms, in seven excretions. In his statement, Izueke claimed he ventured into drug trafficking to raise funds to complete a house he is building in his hometown, Iwollo, Enugu State.
In a related operation, NDLEA operatives recovered 627.7 kilograms of skunk from a makeshift warehouse located within Fums Plaza, Kubwa, Abuja. The agency also foiled attempts to smuggle methamphetamine concealed in MP3 speakers from Enugu to Abuja and Kaduna. One suspect, Ebube Okeke, was arrested in Zuba, FCT, with 173 grams of meth, while three others—Evans Ugwu, Mohammed Eze Arinze and Friday Michael—were apprehended in Kaduna with an additional 28 grams.
Similarly, at the Dan-Anacha patrol point in Gassol Local Government Area of Taraba State, officers intercepted a 32-year-old suspect, Yusuf Abubakar, conveying packs of Hollandia yoghurt from Lagos to Mubi, Adamawa State. A search revealed 1.8 kilograms of methamphetamine concealed inside the yoghurt packs.
In Oyo State, NDLEA operatives arrested a Beninoise national, Shuaibu Abdulrahman, 29, at Ibudo-Igboho village, Sooro Kishi, with 149.6 kilograms of skunk hidden in rice shafts. Another suspect, Adeniyi Adeola, also known as “Prince,” was arrested at Agbeni Market, Ibadan, with 10,820 ampoules of pentazocine injection and 117,820 capsules of tramadol.
Also in Ibadan, a notorious drug kingpin, Jimoh Nurudeen, 40, was arrested at Badeku for operating a facility producing Colorado, a synthetic cannabis. Items recovered include precursor chemicals, skunk, production paraphernalia, ₦7.4 million in cash, and two vehicles—a Mercedes-Benz SUV and a Toyota Highlander. His accomplice, Ogundipe Yusuf, 27, was also arrested.
In Kwara State, NDLEA officers intercepted a fuel tanker transporting petrol from Lagos to Maiduguri and recovered 395,400 capsules of tramadol concealed in the truck. The driver was taken into custody.
Meanwhile, a couple—Izuchukwu Azubuike, 37, and Ifunaya Mmadueke, 32 were arrested in Imo State with 203 kilograms of skunk, while 420 kilograms of the same substance were recovered from a bush in Ikun Akoko, Ondo State.
At Badagry, Lagos State, NDLEA Marine Command officers seized 31 wraps of cocaine hidden in a handbag from a suspect, Eze Nodebechi Austin, who arrived from Côte d’Ivoire by boat. In Lagos Island, operatives arrested Adekunle Oluwatosin Olajide with 3.6 kilograms of Canadian Loud and Colorado, while another suspect, Emeka Okeke, was apprehended in Enugu with assorted drugs and ₦457,700 in cash.
Across the country, NDLEA commands also intensified their War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitization campaigns in schools, communities, workplaces and traditional institutions.
Commending the officers involved in the arrests and seizures, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), urged personnel nationwide to sustain the agency’s professionalism and commitment in drug supply and demand reduction efforts.
