The NDLEA has exposed “bizarre” smuggling tactics following the arrest of two traffickers attempting to move illicit drugs across Nigerian borders.
In one incident, a 35-year-old businesswoman, Rabi Muhammad, was caught at the Seme land border last Monday using a fake pregnancy to hide opioids while attempting to enter Benin Republic.
In a statement on Sunday emailed to Persecondnews, NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi confirmed that Muhammad was intercepted after officers noticed her unusual “protruding tummy” during a routine check.
This arrest occurred alongside another major bust at the Kano airport, where an Ivorian national was caught after ingesting 82 wraps of cocaine.
Babafemi disclosed that a full body search, however, revealed that her pregnancy was fake and her baby bump was designed with a pink coloured calabash used to conceal 3,200 capsules of tramadol, which she tied around her stomach and was taking to Cotonou to sell.
Same day in Kano, NDLEA operatives at the screening point of the departure hall of MAKIA intercepted a 41-year-old Ivorian, Michael Gohouri (also known as Anunwa Onyinye Michael) during the outward clearance of passengers on Ethiopian Airlines flight ET940 to Milan, Malpensa via Addis Ababa. When he was taken for body scan, the result confirmed ingestion of illicit substances.
NDLEA stated that the suspect was placed under observation during which he excreted 82 wraps of cocaine weighing 1.49 kilograms.
“Michael Gohouri had arrived in Lagos from Milan on 17th January, 2026 and was shuttling from Lagos to Enugu for three weeks. He later travelled to Kano where he stayed for a week before ingesting the cocaine consignment in his hotel room. He’s expected to be paid 5,000 Euros when he delivers the drugs in Milan.
“The suspect who hails from Reu duce Avenue 13 Abidjan, Cote d’ivoire claims his father, Bade Gohouri is an Ivorian while his mother is from Anunwa compound, Urunnebo village Ukwan in Enugu State.
“He applied for asylum in Italy in 2013 and obtained a resident permit which expires 25th May 2026 while he has a Nigerian National Identification Number with his name written as Anunwa Onyinye Michael,” the statement said.
Similarly, the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of Trans Fortress Global Resources, a notable real estate development firm, Mr Kolapo Oladapo Raji, was arrested by NDLEA operatives.
Raji has been on NDLEA watchlist since 2025 following credible intelligence.
The 57-year-old drug kingpin was arrested at his Safe Court Apartment residence in Ikate, Lekki Lagos on Thursday 12th February 2026 after sustained surveillance soon after his return from the United Kingdom.
According to the NDLEA, a search of his residence led to the recovery of four large bags containing parcels of Canadian Loud, a strong strain of cannabis with a total weight of 89.20kg. Also recovered from him at the point of his arrest was a 2024 model Toyota Hilux.
In his statement, he claimed he got involved in the illicit drug trade after financing some consignments for his overseas associate.
He said hundreds of millions of naira paid to him as profit by his associate motivated him to establish his own independent drug distribution channel.
In another interdiction operation in Lagos, a suspect Ugwuja Kingsley was nabbed with 56kg skunk at Agbara on Thursday 19th February, while Ekwe Arinze was caught with 76kg of same substance at a motor park in Oshodi on Tuesday 17th February.
At the Port Harcourt Ports Complex, Onne, Rivers State, a total of 170, 900 bottles of codeine-based syrup were discovered in a container during a joint examination of the shipment by NDLEA officers, Customs and other security agencies.
The request by NDLEA for a 100% physical examination and search of the container followed processed intelligence on the shipment.
No fewer than 7,300 pills of tramadol 225mg concealed in two sound systems were recovered by NDLEA operatives on patrol along Okene/Lokoja highway Kogi state during the search of a commuter bus coming from Lagos to Kano on Sunday 15th February.
A follow up operation in Zuba, Abuja on Tuesday 17th February led to the arrest of the two suspects linked to the consignment: Ezenma Kingsley, 26, and Ezeja Anthony, 29.
In Ondo State, a suspect Bright Timothy, 28, was arrested at Iju forest on Thursday 19th February with 195kg skunk and seeds while another suspect Godwin Bernard was nabbed with 198kg of same substance when NDLEA operatives raided their enclaves in the forest.
A total of 936 kilograms of skunk were seized from a suspect, Yahaya Adamu Gimba, 48, when he was arrested at Azare town, Katagun LGA, Bauchi on Tuesday 17th February, while another 85.8kg of same substance was recovered from Yahaya Adamu Gimba; Nasiru Suleman, 36; Abdul Umar, 25, and Musa Suleman, 21 in Azare.
While 37kg skunk was seized from Mgbeme Ejeoma, 34, at Club Street, Ekeredjebor, Ughelli, Delta state on Tuesday 17th February, NDLEA officers in Edo state same day raided Etiosa camp in Owan West LGA where they destroyed 1,266.8475kg skunk on three farms.
No less than 23kg of processed cannabis was equally recovered, with two suspects: a 68-year-old grandmother, Evelyn Ogenewu, and a 43-year-old, Friday Iruoje, apprehended.
NDLEA Chairman/CEO, retired Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa, commended the officers across various commands—including MAKIA, Seme, Lagos, Edo, and Kogi—for their recent breakthroughs.
He praised their “balanced approach” to tackling both drug supply and demand, noting that their consistent operational successes are vital to the national anti-narcotics campaign.
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