A 62-year-old Lagos businessman, Nwabueze Nicholas Izueke, is in NDLEA custody after attempting to smuggle 1.589kg of cocaine through the Kano airport.
Izueke was intercepted on January 31, 2026, while boarding an Ethiopian Airlines flight destined for China.
Following his arrest, the suspect excreted 95 jumbo-sized wraps of the illicit drug which he had swallowed before arriving at the airport.
“When taken for a body scan, he tested positive for ingesting an illicit drug and was promptly placed under excretion observation.
“While under observation, the suspect, who claims he’s into the clothing and auto spare parts business in Lagos, expelled a total of 95 pellets of the class A drug in seven excretions’.
According to Femi Baba Femi, the agency’s spokesman, the suspect, in his statement, claimed he decided to engage in illicit drug trafficking to raise enough money to complete the country home he’s building in his village, Iwollo, Enugu state.
The agency also disclosed that a total of 627.7 kilograms of skunk, a strain of cannabis, were recovered from a makeshift warehouse within Fums Plaza in Kubwa, FCT, while attempt by Ebube Okeke, Evans Ugwu, Mohammed Eze Arinze and Friday Michael to smuggle consignments of methamphetamine concealed in Mp3 speakers from Enugu to Abuja and Kaduna was on Friday 6th February foiled by NDLEA operatives in Abuja when operatives intercepted the consignments in a bus.
“A follow-up operation in Zuba, FCT, led to the arrest of Ebube Okeke, who is the owner of one of the parcels containing 173grams of meth, while the trio of Evans Ugwu, Mohammed Eze Arinze and Friday Michael were nabbed on Saturday, 7th February in Kaduna when they showed up to collect the second consignment weighing 28 grams of meth.
“In a similar development, NDLEA operatives at Dan-anacha patrol point, Gassol local government area of Taraba state on Friday, 6th February, intercepted a suspect, Yusuf Abubakar, 32, conveying packs of Hollandia Yogurt from Lagos heading to Mubi, Adamawa state.
“Acting on intelligence, the NDLEA officers searched the yogurt packs, some of which were used to conceal wraps of white powdery substance that tested positive to methamphetamine, weighing 1.8 kilograms.
In Oyo state, NDLEA officers on Thursday, 5th February arrested a Beninoise Shuaibu Abdulrahman, 29, at Ibudo-Igboho village, Sooro Kishi, where they recovered 149.6kg
Skunk concealed in rice shafts.
In a separate operation in Ibadan, Oyo state, a suspect, Adeniyi Adeola (a.k.a. Prince), was nabbed at Foko, Agbeni market, on Wednesday, 4th February. Recovered from his truck marked BDJ 767 YC include: 10,820 ampoules of pentazocine injection; and 117,820 capsules of tramadol.
Also in Ibadan, a drug kingpin, Jimoh Nurudeen, 40, who owns a facility where he produces Colorado, a synthetic cannabis, was on Saturday, 7th February, at Badeku area of Ibadan, along with his accomplice, Ogundipe Yusuf, 27.
Recovered from them include: 8 litres of precursor chemical; 14 grams of skunk and other paraphernalia of Colos production; a monetary exhibit of ₦7,408,400.00; and two vehicles: a Mercedes-Benz SUV marked ABC 832 AZ and a Toyota Highlander with registration number RBC 243 BS.
In Kwara State, NDLEA operatives on Saturday, 7th February, intercepted a fuel tanker conveying petrol from Lagos to Maiduguri, Borno State.
A search of the truck led to the recovery of 395,400 capsules of tramadol concealed in parts of the petrol-laden truck, while the driver was taken into custody.
Relatedly, a couple, Izuchukwu Azubuike, 37, and Ifunaya Mmadueke, 32, were arrested at Umuaka, Njaba, Imo State, with 203kg of skunk on Saturday, 7th February. Operatives in Ondo State on Friday, 6th February, recovered 420kg of skunk in a bush at Ikun, Akoko.
Also, 31 wraps of cocaine hidden in a handbag were seized by operatives of the Marine Command of NDLEA from a suspect, Eze Nodebechi Austin, upon his arrival from Cote D’Ivoire in a passenger’s boat at Yekeme, Badagry, Lagos state, on Friday, 6th February.
A suspect, Adekunle Oluwatosin Olajide, was arrested on Wednesday, 4th February, at Lagos Island by NDLEA operatives who recovered 3.6 kilograms of Canadian Loud and Colorado from him in Enugu.
Furthermore, a drug dealer, Emeka Okeke, 37, was nabbed in his hideout at Akuruka street, Asata, Ezeagu, where various quantities of skunk, meth, cocaine and molly, as well as N457,700 monetary exhibits were seized from him.
The agency added that across all its Commands and formations nationwide, NDLEA officers continued their War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) and sensitization activities in schools, worship centres, workplaces, and communities, among others, in the past week.
These include: WADA enlightenment lecture to students and staff of Agulu Awka Community Secondary School, Awka, Anambra; Okeodo Community High School, Igboora, Oyo; and Wisdom Foundation Secondary School, Ado, Lagos, while the Niger State command of NDLEA paid a WADA advocacy visit to the Emir of Suleja, Alhaji Mohammed Auwal Ibrahim, among others.
Chairman/CEO of NDLEA, retired Brig.-Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa commended the officers and men of the MAKIA, Marine, FCT, Taraba, Oyo, Kwara, Imo, Ondo, Lagos, and Lagos Commands for the arrests and seizures.
He urged them and their colleagues across the country to maintain the current level of professionalism and commitment in all their drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction activities.
Leave a comment