NDLEA Busts Drug Cartels, Seizes N12.4bn Cannabis, Arrests Traffickers Nationwide
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intensified its nationwide anti-narcotics operations, intercepting a businesswoman allegedly attempting to smuggle 7.5 kilogrammes of cocaine to China, seizing a N12.4 billion consignment of cannabis at the Lagos ports, and dismantling a drug syndicate accused of planting illicit substances in passengers’ luggage.
The operations, carried out across Lagos, Abuja, and Anambra States, also led to the arrest of several suspects linked to transnational drug trafficking and interstate distribution networks.
According to a statement issued on Sunday by NDLEA spokesman, Femi Babafemi, the agency’s operatives acted on intelligence to uncover multiple coordinated drug trafficking schemes.
Businesswoman arrested at Lagos airport with cocaine to China
One of the major arrests involved a 38-year-old businesswoman, Iwebema Ogechi Peace, who was apprehended at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos.
She was intercepted at the departure hall of Terminal 2 while attempting to board a Qatar Airways flight to Beijing, China.
NDLEA operatives, acting on intelligence, searched her luggage and discovered four parcels of cocaine weighing a total of 7.5 kilogrammes concealed in a specially constructed false bottom of her suitcase.
The agency said the suspect claimed she frequently travelled to China to buy goods for resale in Nigeria.
N12.4bn cannabis intercepted at Apapa Port
In what is described as one of the agency’s biggest cannabis seizures this year, NDLEA officers intercepted 4,959 kilogrammes of Canadian Loud—a potent strain of cannabis—at the Apapa Port Complex in Lagos.
The illicit shipment, concealed inside a 40-foot container alongside Ford and Nissan vehicles, was estimated to have a street value of about N12.4 billion.
The container had reportedly been under surveillance since it left Toronto, Canada, on April 25, passing through Montreal, Morocco, and eventually arriving in Lagos before it was intercepted during a joint operation involving the NDLEA, the Nigeria Customs Service, and other security agencies.
In another operation spanning Abuja and Anambra, NDLEA operatives uncovered a criminal network allegedly planting narcotics in unsuspecting passengers’ luggage on interstate bus routes.
The syndicate was exposed after officers intercepted a Sienna bus travelling from Nnewi to Abuja and discovered 467.7 grammes of methamphetamine hidden in a passenger’s bag.
Further investigation reportedly traced the operation to a bus loading point in Nnewi, where a loader allegedly inserted the drugs into the luggage on the instruction of the driver.
The driver, Abdurrazak Isah, and another passenger, Onyebuchi Okoye, were later identified in connection with the operation, while one Gloria Peter denied ownership of the drug-laden luggage.
Elsewhere in Lagos, NDLEA operatives arrested 57-year-old Ikechukwu Uwakwe at Iddo Motor Park while allegedly attempting to transport 209.5 kilogrammes of skunk to Enugu.
Two nationals of the Benin Republic—Hossou Tito Julien (30) and Mancellim Dossou (19)—alongside Nigerian suspect Jackson ThankGod, were also arrested after officers discovered 558,900 pills of Tramadol hidden in a fabricated compartment beneath a truck intercepted on the Mile 2 Bridge.
On the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, operatives apprehended Lucky Abonga and Osas Azamobo with 118 kilogrammes of skunk concealed among goods in transit to Onitsha.
In another raid in the Amukoko area of Lagos, officers arrested Helen Idiji and Rashidat Sa’adullah, recovering 28.8 kilogrammes of skunk allegedly stored for distribution.
Beyond enforcement, the agency said it continued its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) campaign, carrying out sensitisation programmes in schools and communities across Yobe, Lagos, Kano, Kogi, and Enugu States.
NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (Rtd.), commended the operatives for sustained operations against drug trafficking networks, urging them to maintain momentum in both enforcement and public enlightenment efforts.
He said the combination of supply reduction and demand reduction strategies remains critical in the fight against illicit drugs across Nigeria.
