Businessman Held As NDLEA Discovers Cocaine Hidden In Shirts At Lagos Airport

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a 41-year-old businessman, Abugu Oliver Ikechukwu, for allegedly attempting to smuggle 6.10 kilograms of liquid cocaine concealed in clothing items imported from Brazil.

According to official information released by the agency, the suspect was apprehended at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) in Ikeja, Lagos, after arriving from Brazil through Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, aboard an Ethiopian Airlines flight on June 11, 2026.

Security operatives reportedly discovered 14 shirts and towels carefully soaked in liquid cocaine, dried, and professionally ironed to evade detection during a thorough search of his luggage.

During interrogation, the suspect claimed he had lived in Brazil for more than 14 years, where he operates an African restaurant. He explained that his trip to Nigeria was intended to visit his wife and purchase food supplies in bulk for his business.

In a related development, the anti-narcotics agency arrested two persons living with disabilities over separate drug trafficking offences in Abia and Rivers states. A 60-year-old woman, Chidimma Sunday, was reportedly caught with 1.8 kilograms of skunk by members of the Umuosu Vigilante Group in Isialangwa North Local Government Area of Abia State before being handed over to NDLEA officials. In Rivers State, 28-year-old Abubakar Usman was arrested during a raid in Rumuokoro, Port Harcourt, with 400 grams of skunk, five grams of methamphetamine, 100 grams of tramadol, five grams of swinol, and 18 grams of diazepam.

The agency also recorded multiple seizures across the country. In Delta State, officers arrested 36-year-old Onya Jude at Ogwashi-Uku after discovering five gas cylinders used to conceal 2.8 kilograms of Loud, a potent strain of cannabis. In Gombe State, two suspected drug dealers identified as Jamilu Idris, popularly known as Jama, and Aminu Abdullahi, also known as Momo, were apprehended with 2.738 kilograms of skunk.

Further operations led to the arrest of Ngozi Gaius along the Zaria-Kano Road with 6,000 pills of tramadol, while two suspects, Nasiru Hamza and Muhammad Sani, were intercepted along the Bode Saadu Road in Kwara State transporting 600 compressed blocks of skunk weighing 304 kilograms in a Toyota jeep.

In Taraba State, intelligence-led operations resulted in a raid on the warehouse of a suspected drug dealer, Ali Adamu, at Maihula village in Bali Local Government Area, where operatives recovered 63 jumbo bags of cannabis sativa weighing 1,121.5 kilograms.

On the same day, NDLEA officers patrolling the Gwagwalada Expressway in the Federal Capital Territory arrested Emmanuel Nnadi and seized a large quantity of illicit substances, including 30,400 tramadol pills, 750 pregabalin capsules, 200 molly tablets, and 592 bottles of codeine-based syrup.

In Lagos State, operatives also recovered a massive consignment of Ghana Loud, another strain of cannabis, weighing 1,102 kilograms around the Alaba International Market in the Ojo area.

Beyond enforcement activities, the agency sustained its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) campaign through awareness programmes held in schools, communities, workplaces, and traditional institutions across Nasarawa, Enugu, Lagos, Kano, Anambra, and Rivers states to educate the public on the dangers of illicit drug use and trafficking.

The Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), commended officers across the MMIA, Abia, Rivers, Kano, Kwara, Delta, Gombe, Lagos, and FCT commands for the successful operations. He praised their efforts in balancing drug supply reduction with public enlightenment initiatives and urged them to sustain the momentum by surpassing previous achievements.