The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested multiple drug traffickers, including two returnees from Brazil and a businesswoman, while intercepting large shipments of illicit substances across different states of the country.
At the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, operatives arrested 46-year-old Ofoma Sunday on September 16 after a body scan revealed he ingested 111 wraps of heroin weighing 1.45 kilograms. A follow-up operation at a hotel in Amuwo Odofin led to the arrest of 55-year-old Nweke Jude, allegedly sent to oversee the recovery of the drugs.
Another trafficker, Ukachukwu Frank Ikechukwu, was caught on September 19 while arriving on an Ethiopian Airlines flight from Brazil. He later excreted five wraps of cocaine weighing 145 grams and admitted to having lost additional wraps in transit due to severe anal pain.
Similarly, a businesswoman, Okolonkwo Ebere Theresa, was arrested on September 14 at the Lagos airport while attempting to board a Qatar Airways flight to Doha. She was found with 1.40 kilograms of methamphetamine concealed in butt pad underwear.
In separate operations, NDLEA operatives intercepted consignments of meth and cocaine disguised as food items and electronic accessories. These included 2.3 kilograms of methamphetamine hidden in food packages bound for Hong Kong, and 257 grams of cocaine packed inside phone chargers destined for New Zealand.
Beyond Lagos, NDLEA intensified its crackdown on illicit drugs nationwide. In Adamawa, operatives recovered 233,800 pills of tramadol in multiple raids. In Zamfara, 1,099.4 kilograms of cannabis skunk were seized from a truck en route to Gummi LGA, while in Edo State, two cannabis farms covering more than four hectares with an estimated yield of 11,330 kilograms were destroyed.
Other seizures included 14,000 capsules of tramadol along Damaturu-Potiskum road in Yobe, three sacks of cannabis weighing 25 kilograms in Taraba, and 148 kilograms of processed skunk in Edo.
NDLEA Chairman, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), hailed the operations as a “significant breakthrough” in the agency’s effort to disrupt drug cartels targeting Nigerian youths. He urged operatives to sustain the momentum under the War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) campaign.