NDLEA Nabs Cocaine Courier, Detains Two PWD Suspects

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a Brazil-based Nigerian businessman who allegedly attempted to smuggle cocaine concealed in clothing, while also detaining two persons living with disability in separate drug-related operations across Abia and Rivers States.

The agency said the 41-year-old suspect, identified as Abugu Oliver Ikechukwu, was intercepted at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, on arrival from São Paulo, Brazil, via Addis Ababa aboard an Ethiopian Airlines flight.

According to the NDLEA, a thorough search of his luggage led to the discovery of shirts and towels allegedly impregnated with liquid cocaine, carefully dried and ironed to avoid detection.

The suspect, who claimed to have lived in Brazil for over 14 years running an African restaurant, reportedly told investigators he was in Nigeria to visit his wife and purchase food items in bulk for his business.

In a separate operation, the agency arrested a 60-year-old woman, Chidimma Sunday, a person living with disability, in Abia State after she was allegedly found with 1.8 kilograms of skunk. She was apprehended following an interception by local vigilante operatives in Umuosu, Umuna Autonomous Community, Isialangwa North Local Government Area.

Also in Rivers State, NDLEA operatives arrested a 28-year-old man, Abubakar Usman, another person living with disability, in Rumuokoro, Port Harcourt, with multiple illicit substances, including skunk, methamphetamine, tramadol, swinol and diazepam.

The agency said the arrests formed part of coordinated nationwide operations aimed at dismantling drug trafficking networks across the country.

Across other states, NDLEA operatives carried out multiple raids and interceptions, including the arrest of suspects in Delta State with cannabis concealed in gas cylinders, and the seizure of over 2.7 kilograms of skunk in Gombe State.

In Kano State, a suspect was intercepted with thousands of tablets of tramadol, while in Kwara State, two suspects were arrested with 304 kilograms of skunk concealed in a Toyota jeep along a major highway.

In Taraba State, operatives raided a warehouse where over 1,100 kilograms of cannabis were recovered, while in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, officers intercepted large quantities of tramadol, pregabalin, molly and codeine-based syrup along the Gwagwalada expressway.

In Lagos, a major consignment of Ghana Loud, weighing over 1,100 kilograms, was recovered around the Alaba International Market area.

The NDLEA also said it continued its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitization campaigns in schools, worship centres and communities nationwide.

Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), commended officers involved in the operations and urged them to sustain pressure on drug trafficking networks while expanding public enlightenment efforts.

He reaffirmed the agency’s commitment to balancing enforcement with prevention, stressing that drug barons and couriers would continue to face arrest and prosecution across the country.