The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a 34-year-old Ugandan woman, Farida Nansubuga, for allegedly attempting to smuggle 1.15 kilogrammes of cocaine from Nigeria to Uganda.
The agency said 87 wraps of cocaine were recovered from the suspect at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, on Tuesday, November 3, 2026, as she prepared to board a flight to Uganda.
According to a statement issued on Sunday by the NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, the cocaine was strapped around her pelvic region and concealed beneath two layers of underwear.
The agency said the arrest followed a joint passenger-screening exercise involving NDLEA operatives and aviation security personnel at Terminal 2 of the airport. A preliminary search raised suspicion, leading to a more detailed examination in a designated private search room, where the 87 wraps were recovered.
Babafemi said Nansubuga arrived in Nigeria on October 29 with members of her church for a prayer session at the Synagogue Church of All Nations in the Ikotun-Egbe area of Lagos.
According to the agency, the other members of her delegation returned to Uganda after the programme, while she remained in Nigeria to collect the consignment on behalf of a friend identified as Joy, who lives in Uganda.
The NDLEA said preliminary investigations indicated that Joy linked the suspect with a contact in Nigeria, who arranged for a vehicle to take her to a hotel on the morning of her departure.
At the hotel, an unidentified man allegedly handed her the cocaine and instructed her to conceal it beneath her clothing to avoid detection during airport screening.
The agency added that the suspect told investigators she had no fixed payment agreement but expected to receive at least $1,000 after delivering the consignment in Uganda.
NDLEA Chairman, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), described the incident as a reminder of how drug trafficking networks allegedly exploit religious activities and travel to recruit couriers.
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“The case of the Ugandan woman is a sad reminder that drug cartels will stop at nothing, including exploiting faith and religious travel, to recruit couriers for their deadly trade. I urge officers across all commands to sustain the tempo of their supply and demand reduction efforts, ” he said.
The arrest was among several seizures and operations reported by the agency across the country.
At the Lagos airport, NDLEA operatives also intercepted 750,000 tablets of Tapentadol 250mg, weighing 526 kilogrammes and valued at N900 million. The consignment arrived from Ahmedabad, India, aboard an Ethiopian Airlines flight on November 3 and was declared as Paracetamol 500mg tablets, according to the agency.
The NDLEA said officers placed the shipment under surveillance before a joint examination with Nigeria Customs Service personnel and other agencies on November 6. The opioid tablets were found in 10 of the 11 cartons, while the remaining carton contained paracetamol tablets.
In another interception at the airport on November 4, operatives recovered 32 parcels of Loud, a strain of cannabis, weighing 16.15 kilogrammes from two wooden sofas in a cargo shipment from Houston, United States. The agency said a freight agent, Ibrahim Abdulwaheed Adewale, was arrested when he came to clear the consignment. A second suspect, Adeoye Sarafa Ojo, was arrested during a follow-up operation on November 6.
The agency also reported intercepting 600 tablets of Tramadol 225mg concealed in women’s headwear in a shipment from Asaba, Delta State, to the United Kingdom.
Separately, 46 blocks of cannabis weighing 22.2 kilogrammes were intercepted in two cartons being sent to the UK through a courier company in Lagos on November 3.
The NDLEA said its commands also recorded other drug seizures and arrests in several states during the period.