PHOTOS: NDLEA Seizes ₦12.3bn Canad!an Loud, Smashes Major Drug Syndicate

According to Ireporter Online, operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a businesswoman, Iwebema Ogechi Peace, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Ikeja, Lagos, after she was allegedly found in possession of 7.5 kilograms of cocaine concealed in a hidden compartment of her luggage.

The suspect, aged 38, was apprehended on June 21 while attempting to board a Qatar Airways flight to Beijing. She reportedly told investigators that she frequently travels to China to purchase goods for resale in Nigeria. However, intelligence-led surveillance by the agency led to a thorough search of her luggage, where four large parcels of cocaine were discovered carefully hidden beneath a false bottom.

In a separate high-impact operation, the NDLEA also intercepted 4,959 kilograms of Canadian Loud, a potent strain of cannabis, with an estimated street value of ₦12.397 billion at the Apapa Port in Lagos. The shipment, which included a 40-foot container carrying 195 sacks of the illicit substance alongside a Ford and a Nissan vehicle, was tracked over a period of more than four weeks from Toronto through Montreal and Morocco before arriving in Nigeria. The recovery was carried out in a coordinated operation involving the NDLEA, the Nigeria Customs Service, and other security agencies.

The agency further uncovered a drug trafficking syndicate that allegedly specialized in concealing illicit substances in the luggage of unsuspecting interstate passengers. The operation began after NDLEA operatives intercepted a Sienna bus travelling from Nnewi in Anambra State to Abuja at Abaji in the Federal Capital Territory, where 467.7 grams of methamphetamine hidden in clothing were recovered. A female recipient, Gloria Peter, was arrested at Utako Motor Park but denied ownership of the package, prompting further investigations that led to the arrest of loaders in Nnewi, who allegedly confessed the drugs were planted under the instruction of the bus driver, Abdurrazak Isah. The driver later implicated another passenger, Onyebuchi Victor Okoye, who was subsequently arrested in Abuja.

In another enforcement action, NDLEA operatives arrested two nationals of the Benin Republic, Hossou Tito Julien and Mancellim Dossou, alongside a Nigerian suspect, Jackson ThankGod, after intercepting a truck conveying 558,900 tablets of Tramadol 250mg. The vehicle, which originated from Togo and passed through the Benin Republic into Nigeria, was stopped on the Mile 2 Bridge in Lagos following intelligence reports, with the drugs found hidden in a fabricated compartment.

Elsewhere, officers arrested 57-year-old Ikechukwu Uwakwe at the Iddo Motor Park in Lagos with 209.5 kilograms of Scottish Loud allegedly destined for Enugu State. On the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Lucky Abonga and Osas Azamobo were apprehended while transporting 118 kilograms of skunk concealed among legitimate goods in a truck heading to Onitsha. In a related operation in the Amukoko area of Lagos, Helen Ese Idiji and Rashidat Sa’adullah were also arrested with 28.8 kilograms of skunk, with investigations revealing that the drugs were allegedly stored at Rashidat’s residence before distribution.

Reacting to the series of operations, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), praised the officers involved for their sustained commitment to drug supply reduction and the ongoing War Against Drug Abuse campaign. He urged personnel nationwide to remain vigilant and intensify efforts in combating drug trafficking and abuse across the country.