Operatives of National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a 62-year-old Lagos-based businessman at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport in Kano for attempting to smuggle cocaine to China.
Gatekeepers News reports that the suspect was apprehended on Saturday during the outward screening of passengers travelling to China through Addis Ababa aboard Ethiopian Airlines flight ET940.
A body scan carried out by NDLEA officers revealed that he had ingested illicit drugs, after which he was placed under close medical observation. While under monitoring, he expelled a total of 95 jumbo-sized wraps of cocaine in seven separate excretions, with a combined weight of 1.589 kilograms.
In a statement issued by the Director of Media and Advocacy at NDLEA Headquarters in Abuja, Femi Babafemi, the agency disclosed that the suspect identified himself as a dealer in clothing and auto spare parts in Lagos.
He reportedly told investigators that he ventured into drug trafficking in a desperate attempt to raise funds to complete a residential building project in his hometown of Iwollo, Enugu State.
Beyond the airport arrest, NDLEA operatives recorded several breakthroughs in coordinated operations across different parts of the country. In Federal Capital Territory, officers uncovered 627.7 kilograms of skunk, a potent strain of cannabis, hidden inside a makeshift warehouse located within Fums Plaza, Kubwa.
In another operation, an attempt to transport methamphetamine concealed inside MP3 speakers from Enugu to Abuja and Kaduna was intercepted on Friday, February 6, when NDLEA agents stopped a commercial bus conveying the parcels.
A follow-up operation in Zuba, FCT, led to the arrest of Ebube Okeke, who owned one of the consignments containing 173 grams of methamphetamine. Meanwhile, Evans Ugwu, Mohammed Eze Arinze, and Friday Michael were arrested in Kaduna on Saturday, February 7, as they arrived to collect a second parcel weighing 28 grams.
In Taraba State, NDLEA officers stationed at the Dan-Anacha checkpoint in Gassol Local Government Area intercepted a 32-year-old suspect, Yusuf Abubakar, who was transporting cartons of Hollandia yoghurt from Lagos to Mubi, Adamawa State. A thorough search revealed that some of the yoghurt packs had been used to conceal 1.8 kilograms of methamphetamine.
In Oyo State, a 29-year-old Beninese national, Shuaibu Abdulrahman, was arrested at Ibudo-Igboho village in Sooro Kishi with 149.6 kilograms of skunk hidden inside rice shafts.
In a separate operation in Ibadan, Adeniyi Adeola, also known as Prince, was arrested at Foko, Agbeni Market, with 10,820 ampoules of pentazocine injection and 117,820 capsules of tramadol recovered from his truck.
Also in Ibadan, NDLEA operatives arrested a suspected drug kingpin, Jimoh Nurudeen, 40, at Badeku, alongside his accomplice, Ogundipe Yusuf, 27. Recovered from them were eight litres of precursor chemicals, 14 grams of skunk, drug production equipment, ₦7,408,400 in cash, and two vehicles, a Mercedes-Benz SUV and a Toyota Highlander.
In Kwara State, officers intercepted a fuel tanker transporting petrol from Lagos to Maiduguri and discovered 395,400 capsules of tramadol concealed inside the vehicle, leading to the arrest of the driver.
In Imo State, a couple, Izuchukwu Azubuike, 37, and Ifunaya Mmadueke, 32, were arrested at Umuaka in Njaba Local Government Area with 203 kilograms of skunk.
In Ondo State, NDLEA operatives recovered 420 kilograms of skunk from a bush at Ikun Akoko. In Lagos State, officers of the NDLEA Marine Command seized 31 wraps of cocaine hidden inside a handbag from Eze Nodebechi Austin upon his arrival from Côte d’Ivoire by boat at Yekeme, Badagry. Another suspect, Adekunle Oluwatosin Olajide, was arrested on Lagos Island with 3.6 kilograms of Canadian Loud and Colorado.
In Enugu State, NDLEA agents also arrested a drug dealer, Emeka Okeke, 37, at his hideout on Akuruka Street, Asata, where quantities of skunk, methamphetamine, cocaine, and molly were recovered alongside ₦457,700 in cash.
The agency said the nationwide operations reflect its continued commitment to disrupting drug trafficking networks and preventing illicit substances from circulating within and beyond Nigeria.
