Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a 62-year-old Lagos-based businessman, Nwabueze Nicholas Izueke, at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport (MAKIA), Kano, after he ingested 95 wraps of cocaine while attempting to travel to China.
According to a statement signed on Sunday by the Director, Media and Advocacy, NDLEA HQs, Femi Babafemi, Izueke was apprehended on Saturday, January 31, 2026, during the outward clearance of passengers bound for China via Addis Ababa on Ethiopian Airlines flight ET940.
It was gathered that a body scan conducted by NDLEA officers confirmed the presence of illicit drugs in his system, after which he was placed under excretion observation.
The suspect, who claimed to be involved in the clothing and auto spare parts business in Lagos, later expelled a total of 95 jumbo-sized pellets of cocaine weighing 1.589 kilograms in seven excretions.
The statement added that, Izueke resorted to drug trafficking in a bid to raise funds to complete a house he is building in his hometown of Iwollo, Enugu State.
In a related development, NDLEA operatives uncovered 627.7 kilograms of skunk, a strain of cannabis, from a makeshift warehouse located within Fums Plaza in Kubwa, Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
The agency also foiled an attempt to smuggle methamphetamine concealed in MP3 speakers from Enugu to Abuja and Kaduna.
The consignments were intercepted in a bus in Abuja on Friday, February 6.
A follow-up operation in Zuba, FCT, led to the arrest of Ebube Okeke, identified as the owner of one of the parcels containing 173 grams of methamphetamine.
Meanwhile, Evans Ugwu, Mohammed Eze Arinze, and Friday Michael were arrested on Saturday, February 7, in Kaduna when they arrived to collect a second consignment weighing 28 grams.
Similarly, NDLEA officers at the Dan-anacha patrol point in Gassol Local Government Area of Taraba State intercepted a 32-year-old suspect, Yusuf Abubakar, on Friday, February 6.
Abubakar was conveying packs of Hollandia yoghurt from Lagos to Mubi, Adamawa State.
A search revealed that some of the yoghurt packs concealed methamphetamine weighing 1.8 kilograms.
In Oyo State, NDLEA operatives on Thursday, February 5, arrested a 29-year-old Beninoise national, Shuaibu Abdulrahman, at Ibudo-Igboho village, Sooro Kishi, where 149.6 kilograms of skunk concealed in rice shafts were recovered.
In a separate operation in Ibadan, Adeniyi Adeola, also known as “Prince,” was arrested on Wednesday, February 4, at Foko, Agbeni Market.
Items recovered from his truck, marked BDJ 767 YC, included 10,820 ampoules of pentazocine injection and 117,820 capsules of tramadol.
Also in Ibadan, NDLEA dismantled a facility used for the production of “Colorado,” a synthetic cannabis popularly known as “Colos.”
The drug kingpin, Jimoh Nurudeen, 40, was arrested on Saturday, February 7, at the Badeku area of the city alongside his accomplice, Ogundipe Yusuf, 27.
Recovered items included eight litres of precursor chemicals, 14 grams of skunk, production paraphernalia, ₦7,408,400 in cash, and two vehicles—a Mercedes-Benz SUV (ABC 832 AZ) and a Toyota Highlander (RBC 243 BS).
In Kwara State, NDLEA operatives on Saturday, February 7, intercepted a fuel tanker conveying petrol from Lagos to Maiduguri, Borno State.
A search of the vehicle uncovered 395,400 capsules of tramadol concealed within the truck, and the driver was taken into custody.
READ ALSO: NDLEA Intercepts Drug Couriers, Seizes 627kg of Skunk
Elsewhere, a couple, Izuchukwu Azubuike, 37, and Ifunaya Mmadueke, 32, were arrested at Umuaka, Njaba Local Government Area of Imo State with 203 kilograms of skunk on Saturday, February 7.
In Ondo State, operatives recovered 420 kilograms of skunk from a bush at Ikun Akoko on Friday, February 6.
In Lagos, operatives of the Marine Command seized 31 wraps of cocaine hidden in a handbag from a suspect, Eze Nodebechi Austin, upon his arrival from Côte d’Ivoire via a passenger boat at Yekeme, Badagry, on Friday, February 6. Another suspect, Adekunle Oluwatosin Olajide, was arrested on Wednesday, February 4, at Lagos Island with 3.6 kilograms of Canadian Loud and Colorado.
In Enugu, a 37-year-old drug dealer, Emeka Okeke, was arrested at his hideout on Akuruka Street, Asata, Ezeagu.
Various quantities of skunk, methamphetamine, cocaine, and molly, as well as ₦457,700 in cash, were recovered from him.
Meanwhile, NDLEA said its officers across all commands continued War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation activities nationwide over the past week.
These included enlightenment lectures in schools such as Agulu Awka Community Secondary School in Anambra, Okeodo Community High School in Oyo, and Wisdom Foundation Secondary School in Lagos, as well as advocacy visits to traditional institutions, including the Emir of Suleja, Alhaji Mohammed Auwal Ibrahim.
Commending the officers of the MAKIA, Marine, FCT, Taraba, Oyo, Kwara, Imo, Ondo, and Lagos commands for their professionalism, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), urged them to sustain the current level of commitment in both drug supply and demand reduction efforts.
