Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a 67-year-old Nigerian-British grandmother, Mary Barek, for allegedly attempting to smuggle 13 kilograms of cocaine concealed in fake plantain peels through the Murtala Muhammed International Airport.
The agency said Barek, who works as a caregiver in the United Kingdom, was apprehended at the departure hall of Terminal 2 on June 28 while preparing to board a Virgin Atlantic flight to London.
In a statement issued on Sunday, NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, said officers discovered 31 large wraps of cocaine carefully packaged to resemble hands of plantain during a detailed search of the suspect’s luggage.
According to Babafemi, the concealed drugs weighed a total of 13 kilograms and were packed alongside other food items in an attempt to evade detection.
He added that the suspect admitted ownership of the cocaine during interrogation.
In a separate operation, the agency announced the arrest of Nwabueze Felix Onyeka, a 45-year-old PhD student at the University of Putra Malaysia, over an alleged attempt to export cocaine concealed inside cartons of Orijin Bitters bound for Kuala Lumpur.
Babafemi said Onyeka was arrested on June 29 in Ekwusigo Local Government Area of Anambra State after investigations identified him as the alleged leader of a drug trafficking syndicate.
The NDLEA disclosed that operatives had earlier intercepted 36 parcels of cocaine weighing 5.8 kilograms hidden inside the walls of nine cartons of the herbal drink intended for shipment to Malaysia.
The investigation also led to the arrest of four other suspects in Lagos, including a cargo agent, a truck driver, a trader at ASPANDA Market in the Trade Fair Complex, and a supplier of the cartons allegedly used to conceal the drugs.
According to the agency, Onyeka was eventually tracked to his hometown of Aziora in Ozubulu, Anambra State, where he was arrested.
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The agency also recorded additional seizures across the country. In Taraba State, operatives intercepted 43,980 capsules of tramadol concealed inside specially modified vehicle fuel tanks and arrested a suspect along the Zaki-Biam Road in Wukari.
In Kaduna State, two suspects were arrested with 1.7 kilograms of methamphetamine, while separate operations in Ebonyi State and Plateau State led to the seizure of large quantities of skunk from elderly suspects.
Similarly, in Gombe State, officers arrested two suspects with 587 blocks of cannabis sativa weighing 556 kilograms.
Beyond enforcement, the NDLEA said it continued its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation campaign through awareness programmes in schools, workplaces, worship centres and communities across several states.
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the agency, Mohamed Buba Marwa, commended officers involved in the operations, praising their success in combining aggressive drug supply reduction efforts with public enlightenment campaigns and urging them to sustain the momentum in the fight against illicit drug trafficking.