The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a 43-year-old woman, Adekoya Adebukonla Mary, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos, for attempting to smuggle 2.2 kilograms of cocaine concealed in her luggage.
The agency, in a statement issued on Sunday by its Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, said the suspect, a make-up artist, was apprehended on Monday, June 16, while attempting to board a Qatar Airways flight to India via Doha. She had claimed she was travelling for fibroid surgery.
“Upon a search of her suitcase, two large parcels of cocaine weighing 2.20kg were found factory-fitted into the walls of the bag. She later confessed she was recruited for the trip by a drug baron identified as Akeem Ayinde Adekanbi,” the statement read.
The NDLEA said Adekanbi, who is currently at large, owns Rockford Hotel in Sango, Ogun State, and resides in Igbe Laara, Igbogbo, Ikorodu, Lagos State.
In other operations, NDLEA operatives intercepted a shipment containing 1.3kg of Loud (a potent strain of cannabis) concealed in sewn female dresses at a courier company in Lagos on Thursday, June 19.
A day earlier, 850 grams of cocaine hidden in cloth hangers and bound for Australia was also seized at another courier facility.
Meanwhile, in Bauchi State, two suspects — Ibrahim Galadima, 37, and Ibrahim Muhammed, 28 — were arrested with 1,013,000 pills of tramadol, diazepam, and exol-5 on Monday, June 16, along the Bauchi–Darazo Road.
Also arrested was Bishir Isyaku, 38, with 14.2kg of cannabis concealed in charcoal sacks and rubber solution containers along the Kaduna-Zaria Expressway.
In Abuja, six suspects were apprehended on June 18 with 6.9kg of skunk and 59 grams of methamphetamine during raids in Karu Abattoir and Torabora areas.
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In Kano, officers arrested multiple suspects with a total of 56.2kg of skunk, 23,720 capsules of tramadol, and 1,400 ampoules of pentazocine. One of the suspects, Obiwuru Henry, 27, was caught along Jaba Road, Fagge.
Elsewhere, 22-year-old student of Kwara State Polytechnic, Olotin Nifemi, was arrested in Ilorin with 1kg of skunk, which she allegedly sold to fellow students.
In Edo State, 4,226.11kg of cannabis was destroyed in Uzebba forest, Owan West LGA, during a raid on June 20. One suspect, Albert Shamaki, 33, was arrested.
Two women — Esther Abumere, 28, and Eko Gift, 38 — were also arrested in separate operations involving the seizure of multiple substances including skunk, Colorado, Loud, Molly, and tramadol.
NDLEA Chairman/Chief Executive, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), commended the agency’s officers in all the affected states for their efforts, noting that the agency continues to pursue a balanced strategy between reducing drug supply and addressing demand.