NDLEA Catches Smugglers With 125 Heroin Wraps Hidden In Their Bodies [Photos]

 NDLEA Catches Smugglers With 125 Heroin Wraps Hidden In Their Bodies [Photos]

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has successfully intercepted two major drug traffickers attempting to smuggle heroin into Nigeria through Port Harcourt International Airport and Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA).

NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi confirmed this in a statement to Naija News on Sunday……READ MORE 

One of the suspects, Onyekwonike Elochuckwu Sylvanus, 30, was caught using a Sierra Leonean passport under the alias Kargbo Mohamed Foday. Sylvanus, who operates under multiple identities to facilitate cross-border trafficking, was apprehended by NDLEA officers on Sunday, February 2, 2025, at Port Harcourt International Airport. He arrived on a Qatar Airways flight from Doha via Abuja.

A body scan revealed the presence of illicit substances in his system, prompting officials to place him under observation. Over five excretions, Sylvanus expelled 62 wraps of heroin, totaling 1.348 kilograms.

Further investigations showed Sylvanus uses both Nigerian and Sierra Leonean identities to traffic heroin across Thailand, Pakistan, Iran, and West Africa. He confessed to fully engaging in drug trafficking after his clothing and shoe business collapsed in 2017.

In a separate incident, James Herbert Chinoso, 48, was arrested at MMIA on Saturday, February 1, 2025. Chinoso arrived from Madagascar via Addis Ababa on an Ethiopian Airlines flight. A body scan revealed ingested drugs, and he was placed under observation, leading to the excretion of 63 heroin wraps weighing 909 grams.

Chinoso admitted to turning to drug trafficking after the collapse of his phone accessories business in Liberia. He had left Lagos for Madagascar on January 26, 2025, and returned after spending a week abroad.

At a courier firm in Lagos, NDLEA operatives intercepted two parcels containing 2.82 kilograms of Loud, a synthetic cannabis strain imported from the United States. The packages were destined for Lagos.

In another operation on Thursday, February 6, officials seized 80 ampoules of pentazocine injection (225 grams) hidden in cartons at a logistics company in Lagos. The shipment was en route to Canada.

In Kano, NDLEA officers arrested Usaini Salisu and Yahaya Mu’azu, both 23, along Gadar Tamburawa, Zaria Road, on Monday, February 3, 2025. They were caught transporting 15,396 tramadol pills concealed in a gas cylinder. On the same day, Choima Okeke, 35, was apprehended in Sabon Gari with 27 blocks of skunk weighing 15 kg.

In Kogi State, operatives intercepted a consignment of 12,800 tramadol pills (250 mg) on Saturday, February 8, 2025, along the Kabba-Obajana highway, leading to the arrest of Salisu Basiru, 33. Additionally, 65 parcels of Colorado, a potent synthetic cannabis strain weighing 1.6 kg, were seized from Rufai Hassan, 32, at the same checkpoint. The shipment was bound for Jigawa State.

Alongside enforcement operations, the NDLEA has ramped up its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) campaign with sensitization programs in schools, workplaces, religious centers, and communities. Recent activities included lectures at:

• Saint Secondary School, Abakaliki, Ebonyi State
• Taangayar Malam Abubakar Bichi (Almajiri School), Bichi, Kano
• Federal Government Girls College, Calabar, Cross River State
• College of Nursing and Science, Birnin Kebbi
• Meiran Community Junior Secondary School, Abule Egba, Lagos

NDLEA Chairman, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), commended the efforts of officers across MMIA, PHIA, DOGI, Kano, and Kogi Commands, applauding their dedication to dismantling drug supply chains and bolstering demand reduction efforts nationwide.