NDLEA Arrests Newlywed With 72 Cocaine Wraps at Enugu Airport

Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a 25-year-old businessman who allegedly ingested 72 wraps of cocaine for delivery to Portugal.

The suspect, identified as a newlywed, was arrested at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu, while preparing to board an Ethiopian Airlines flight to Portugal through Addis Ababa.

The NDLEA said officers intercepted him at the departure hall on Thursday, September 25, during routine checks.

According to a statement issued by the agency on Sunday, the suspect had ingested the cocaine before his arrest.

NDLEA officers placed him under observation until he excreted all 72 wraps of the drug.

The agency said the suspect told investigators that he previously operated a car decoration business at the Trade Fair Complex in Ojo, Lagos.

He reportedly relocated to Portugal in May 2023 but returned to Nigeria recently and married on September 13.

The suspect allegedly told investigators that he turned to drug trafficking to raise money after incurring expenses during his wedding.

Meanwhile, NDLEA operatives have intercepted a major consignment of opioids at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos.

The agency recovered 2,550,000 pills of Tramaking 225mg, Tramaking 250mg and Royal Tapentadol 250mg during a joint examination of three monitored consignments.

The operation took place at the airport’s import shed on Tuesday, September 22.

The consignments weighed 1,640.55 kilogrammes and arrived from India and Bangladesh through Qatar Airways, RwandAir and Ethiopian Airlines.

In Bauchi State, officers arrested two men aged 35 and 45 along the Maiduguri bypass and seized 300 compressed blocks of skunk weighing 262.5 kilogrammes.

The NDLEA said the suspects concealed the cannabis in a false compartment of a truck.

In Edo State, NDLEA officers, supported by soldiers, destroyed two cannabis farms at Eko Camp, Ilushi.

The agency estimated the combined yield of the farms at 1,360.23 kilogrammes.

Lagos operations also produced several arrests and seizures. Two women, aged 36 and 40, were arrested during a raid on Anifowoshe Street, Mushin, where officers recovered 3.4 kilogrammes of skunk.

At Ebute-Ero motor park, officers arrested a 58-year-old man with 5.920 kilogrammes of skunk, 2,400 ampoules of pentazocine injection, 8,400 tablets of nitrazepam and 40,000 pills of tramadol.

In Oyo State, the agency arrested two Togolese nationals aged 35 and 33 along the Iganna-Ilero road.

Officers recovered 305.6 kilogrammes of skunk from two pickup vans allegedly used to transport cannabis sourced from Ghana into Nigeria.

At the Seme border in Lagos, NDLEA operatives also arrested five suspects and seized 420 cartons of nitrous oxide, commonly known as laughing gas.

The consignment weighed 1,688.4 kilogrammes and was allegedly being transported from the border to Lagos in two vehicles.

Beyond the seizures, NDLEA commands across the country continued public awareness campaigns under the War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) programme.

The agency said officers held sensitisation activities in schools, worship centres, workplaces and communities in several states, including Oyo, Edo, Gombe and Kano.

The Delta Ports Command also visited the Olu of Warri, Ogiame Atuwatshe III, as part of its WADA advocacy activities.

NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), commended the personnel involved in the operations.

Marwa urged officers across the country to sustain what he described as a balanced approach to drug control, combining enforcement with prevention and public education.