The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intercepted a Brazil-based Nigerian businessman who allegedly attempted to smuggle 6.1 kilograms of liquid cocaine into the country, as part of the agency’s intensified crackdown on drug trafficking networks nationwide.
NDLEA spokesman Femi Babafemi revealed in a statement on Sunday that the suspect, 41-year-old Abugu Oliver Ikechukwu, was arrested at Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos, after arriving from Sao Paulo, Brazil, via Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. A thorough search of his luggage uncovered 14 shirts and towels soaked in liquid cocaine, which had been dried and carefully ironed to avoid detection.
During interrogation, Ikechukwu reportedly told investigators he had lived in Brazil for more than 14 years, where he runs an African restaurant. He claimed he was visiting Nigeria to see his wife and purchase food items for his business.
Babafemi also disclosed that NDLEA operatives arrested two persons living with disabilities in separate anti-drug operations in Abia and Rivers states. In Abia, a 60-year-old woman, Chidimma Sunday, was apprehended with 1.8 kilograms of skunk in Umuna Autonomous Community, Isiala Ngwa North Local Government Area, after being intercepted by a local vigilante group and handed over to the NDLEA. In Rivers State, a 28-year-old suspect, Abubakar Usman, was arrested during a raid in Rumuokoro, Port Harcourt, with various illicit substances including skunk, methamphetamine, tramadol, swinol, and diazepam.
The agency’s operations also led to significant seizures and arrests in several other states. In Delta State, operatives arrested 36-year-old Onya Jude with five gas cylinders used to conceal 2.8 kilograms of Loud, a potent strain of cannabis, at Ogwashi-Uku in Aniocha South Local Government Area. In Gombe State, two suspected traffickers, Jamilu Idris (aka Jama) and Aminu Abdullahi (aka Momo), were arrested with 2.738 kilograms of skunk.
Additionally, a female suspect, Ngozi Gaius, was arrested along the Zaria-Kano Road with 6,000 pills of Tramadol 225mg, while NDLEA operatives in Kwara State intercepted 304 kilograms of skunk compressed into 600 blocks inside a Toyota Jeep.
One of the week’s largest seizures occurred in Bali Local Government Area of Taraba State, where NDLEA operatives raided the warehouse of a suspected drug dealer, Ali Adamu, and recovered 1,121.5 kilograms of cannabis sativa packed in 63 jumbo bags. Similarly, officers patrolling the Gwagwalada Expressway in the Federal Capital Territory arrested Emmanuel Nnadi and seized over 30,000 tramadol pills, pregabalin capsules, molly tablets, and hundreds of bottles of codeine-based syrup. In Lagos, a massive consignment of Ghana Loud, weighing 1,102 kilograms, was recovered near Alaba International Market in Ojo.
Beyond enforcement, the NDLEA said its commands nationwide have continued to intensify the War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) campaign through sensitisation programmes in schools, communities, workplaces, and traditional institutions.
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Mohamed Buba Marwa, commended the officers involved in the arrests and seizures, praising their efforts to balance drug supply reduction with public enlightenment. He urged them to remain committed to surpassing previous achievements in the fight against illicit drugs.
