By Omoyeni Ojeifo
In a series of coordinated enforcement operations, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) recorded multiple arrests and major drug seizures, including cocaine bound for China and cannabis valued at N12.397 billion.
Persecondnews received details of the operations in a statement emailed to it and on Sunday by the NDLEA Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi.
Among those arrested is 38-year-old businesswoman, Iwebema Ogechi Peace, who was apprehended while preparing to travel to Beijing, China, aboard a Qatar Airways flight through the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos.
According to the Agency, Iwebema, who told investigators she frequently travels to China to purchase goods for resale in Nigeria, was intercepted on Sunday, June 21, 2026, at the departure hall of Terminal 2 after operatives acted on credible intelligence.
A detailed examination of her checked baggage uncovered four sizeable parcels of cocaine concealed inside a specially fabricated false compartment beneath the suitcase. The substance weighed a combined 7.5 kilograms.
In another breakthrough, NDLEA operatives from two Special Operations Units concluded a surveillance operation that lasted more than four weeks with the interception of a container carrying 195 large sacks of Canadian Loud, a highly potent strain of cannabis imported from Toronto, Canada.
The seizure was made on Wednesday, June 23, 2026, during a joint examination of the shipment at the Apapa Port Complex, Lagos, involving officers of the Agency’s Apapa Strategic Command, personnel of the Nigeria Customs Service, other security agencies and port stakeholders.
The operation led to the recovery of 4,959 kilograms of the illicit consignment, with an estimated street value of Twelve Billion Three Hundred and Ninety-Seven Million Five Hundred Thousand Naira (N12,397,500,000).
Investigators disclosed that the drugs had been concealed inside a 40-foot container that also contained a Ford vehicle and a Nissan vehicle.
The agency said the container had remained under surveillance since April 25, 2026, when it departed Toronto, Canada, by truck. It later moved to Montreal by rail on April 29, arrived at Tanger Med, Morocco, on May 11, and was loaded onto another vessel on May 23.
The shipment subsequently arrived at Tincan Port, Lagos, on June 4 and was discharged on June 5 before being transferred to Apapa Port on Monday, June 22, where the monitoring operation culminated in its interception and seizure.
Meanwhile, NDLEA operatives in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), working with their counterparts in Anambra State, uncovered a syndicate accused of planting illicit drugs in the luggage of unsuspecting passengers at motor parks.
The investigation began after officers intercepted a Sienna bus travelling from Nnewi, Anambra State, at Abaji in the FCT on Saturday, June 20, 2026. During a search of the vehicle, operatives recovered a waybill package containing substances suspected to be methamphetamine.
The drugs had been concealed inside a black nylon bag, which was further hidden inside a sack of clothes bearing the receiver’s telephone number.
Acting on the information obtained, operatives arrested the intended recipient, Mrs. Gloria Peter, at Utako Motor Park on the same day.
She, however, denied any knowledge of the package or ownership of the drugs found in the luggage.
The denial prompted investigators to trace the consignment back to Nnewi, where loaders of the Sienna bus were arrested.
During interrogation, one of the loaders admitted placing the drug package inside the woman’s luggage on the instruction of the bus driver, Abdurrazak Isah.
The driver’s confession subsequently led investigators to one of his passengers, Onyebuchi Victor Okoye, whom he identified as the owner of the illicit consignment.
Okoye was later arrested during a follow-up operation at Utako in the FCT. The recovered methamphetamine weighed 467.7 grams.
In another intelligence-led operation, operatives of a Special Operations Unit arrested 57-year-old Ikechukwu Uwakwe at a motor park in Iddo, Lagos, on Saturday, June 27, while he was allegedly preparing to move 209.50 kilograms of Scottish Loud, a potent strain of cannabis, to Enugu.
Elsewehere, the anti- narcotics agency, also arrested Hossou Tito Julien, 30, Mancellim Dossou, 19, both nationals of the Benin Republic, and a Nigerian, Jackson ThankGod, after intercepting a truck transporting illicit drugs from Togo through the Benin Republic.
The suspects were apprehended on Sunday, June 21, at Mile 2 Bridge following credible intelligence.
A detailed search of the truck uncovered 558,900 pills of Tramadol 250mg hidden inside a specially fabricated compartment.
In a related operation, Lucky Abonga and Osas Azamobo were arrested along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway on Friday, June 26, while conveying 118 kilograms of skunk in a truck carrying other legitimate goods from Ebute Ero on Lagos Island to Onitsha, Anambra State.
Operatives also arrested Helen Ese Idiji, 40, and Rashidat Sa’adullah, 53, on the same day at 15 Olumokun Street, Amukoko, Lagos, where 28.8 kilograms of skunk were recovered.
Investigators said Helen, identified as the principal suspect, used Rashidat’s residence to store illicit drug consignments before distributing them to customers.
Beyond its enforcement operations, the NDLEA said its Commands and formations across the country sustained the momentum of the War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) campaign through a series of sensitisation programmes held in schools, places of worship, workplaces and communities during the past week.
Retired Brig.-Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa, Chairman/CEO of the NDLEA, commended officers and personnel of the MMIA, Special Operations Units, Apapa, FCT, Anambra and Lagos Commands for the arrests and seizures recorded during the week.
Marwa said the agency’s drug supply reduction efforts must be sustained alongside the War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitization campaign, urging officers and their counterparts across the country not to relent in advancing both enforcement operations and public awareness initiatives.
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