Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency have arrested a 62 year old Lagos based businessman, Nwabueze Nicholas Izueke, at Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport for ingesting 95 wraps of cocaine.
He was intercepted on January 31, 2026 during outward clearance for an Ethiopian Airlines flight from Kano to China via Addis Ababa. A body scan showed he had swallowed illicit drugs, and he was placed under observation until he excreted 95 jumbo sized pellets of cocaine weighing 1.589 kilograms in seven excretions.
Izueke, who claims to trade in clothing and auto spare parts in Lagos, told investigators he agreed to smuggle the drugs to raise money to complete his country home in Iwollo, Enugu State.
NDLEA also reported a series of other recent operations across the country. In Kubwa, FCT, officers recovered 627.7 kilograms of skunk from a makeshift warehouse in Fums Plaza.
An attempt to move methamphetamine hidden in MP3 speakers from Enugu to Abuja and Kaduna was foiled when operatives intercepted the consignment on a bus. Follow up raids in Zuba and Kaduna led to the arrest of Ebube Okeke, Evans Ugwu, Mohammed Eze Arinze and Friday Michael, and the seizure of 201 grams of meth.
At Dan anacha patrol point in Gassol LGA, Taraba State, NDLEA officers stopped a suspect, Yusuf Abubakar, transporting packs of yoghurt from Lagos to Mubi. Some packs contained wraps of methamphetamine weighing 1.8 kilograms.
In Oyo State, operatives arrested a Beninoise, Shuaibu Abdulrahman, at Ibudo Igboho village with 149.6 kilograms of skunk concealed in rice shafts. Another suspect, Adeniyi Adeola, was arrested in Ibadan with 10,820 ampoules of pentazocine injection and 117,820 capsules of tramadol found in his truck.
NDLEA also uncovered a Colorado (synthetic cannabis) production site at Badeku, Ibadan, where drug kingpin Jimoh Nurudeen and his accomplice Ogundipe Yusuf were arrested. Officers seized precursor chemicals, skunk, production equipment, two vehicles and N7,408,400 in cash.
In Kwara State, operatives intercepted a fuel tanker travelling from Lagos to Maiduguri and discovered 395,400 tramadol capsules hidden in parts of the petrol laden truck.
A couple, Izuchukwu Azubuike and Ifunaya Mmadueke, were arrested at Umuaka in Imo State with 203 kilograms of skunk, while 420 kilograms of the drug were recovered from a bush in Ikun Akoko, Ondo State.
Marine Command officers at Yekeme, Badagry, Lagos, seized 31 wraps of cocaine hidden in a handbag from a passenger arriving by boat from Cote d’Ivoire, identified as Eze Nodebechi Austin. Another suspect, Adekunle Oluwatosin Olajide, was arrested on Lagos Island with 3.6 kilograms of Canadian Loud and Colorado, and dealer Emeka Okeke was caught in Enugu with various quantities of skunk, meth, cocaine and molly, along with N457,700 cash.
NDLEA said its commands nationwide also continued War Against Drug Abuse sensitisation in schools, worship centres, workplaces and communities. Chairman/Chief Executive Brig Gen Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd) commended officers for the arrests and seizures and urged them to sustain their professionalism and commitment.