A 25-year-old newlywed businessman, Lovely Chukwulobelu, has been arrested by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport (AIIA), Enugu, after he ingested 72 wraps of cocaine allegedly destined for Portugal.
Chukwulobelu, was arrested at the airport’s departure hall last Thursday while attempting to board an Ethiopian Airlines flight to Portugal through Addis Ababa.
He was subsequently placed under excretion observation and eventually expelled all 72 wraps of the Class A drug.
The arrest formed part of a series of major drug seizures and arrests recorded by the NDLEA across several states and international entry points in the past week, including the interception of more than 2.55 million opioid tablets weighing 1,640.55 kilogrammes at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos.
According to a statement on Sunday by the spokesman of the anti-narcotics agency, Femi Babafemi, Chukwulobelu claimed during interrogation that he was formerly engaged in car decoration at the Trade Fair Complex, Ojo, Lagos, before relocating to Portugal in May 2023.
He reportedly returned to Nigeria recently and got married on September 13, but said he turned to drug trafficking in an attempt to offset expenses incurred during the wedding.
At the import shed of the MMIA, Ikeja, NDLEA operatives last Tuesday on uncovered one of the agency’s largest opioid seizures of the year during a joint examination of three monitored consignments.
Babafemi said the consignments contained 2,550,000 pills of Tramaking 225mg, Tramaking 250mg and Royal Tapentadol 250mg, with a combined gross weight of 1,640.55 kilogrammes.
He noted that the consignments were imported from India and Bangladesh through Qatar Airways, RwandAir and Ethiopian Airlines.
The seizure, estimated by the agency at more than N3 billion in street value, underscores the scale of pharmaceutical opioid trafficking confronting Nigeria’s drug control authorities.
In Bauchi State, NDLEA operatives arrested two suspects, Umar Hamidu, 35, and Abdulkarim Salihu, 45, along the Maiduguri bypass.
They were allegedly transporting 300 compressed blocks of skunk weighing 262.5 kilogrammes, concealed in a false compartment of a truck marked MUB757 YH.
In Edo State, NDLEA operatives, backed by soldiers, destroyed two cannabis farms at Eko Camp, Ilushi last Wednesday. The farms had an estimated combined yield of 1,360.23 kilogrammes of cannabis.
The agency also reported the arrest of two Togolese nationals, Yinusa Abdulsamad, 35, and Fatai Baba, 33, at Iganna-Ilero Road, Iganna, Oyo State.
The suspects were intercepted on Saturday with 305.6 kilogrammes of skunk concealed in two pickup vans.
NDLEA said preliminary investigations indicated that the suspects were involved in a cross-border trafficking operation moving Ghanaian-sourced cannabis into Nigeria through the Oyo axis.
The arrests underscore the regional dimension of Nigeria’s illicit drug trade, with trafficking routes cutting across neighbouring West African countries.
In Lagos, NDLEA operatives raided Anifowoshe Street, Mushin, on Saturday arresting two women, Odumabo Kehinde, 36, and Obiekwe Chioma, 40, with 3.4 kilogrammes of skunk.
At Ebute-Ero motor park on the same day, operatives intercepted a 58-year-old man, Ugwu Johnson, with several categories of illicit consignments.
The exhibits included 5.920 kilogrammes of skunk, 2,400 ampoules of pentazocine injection, 8,400 tablets of nitrazepam and 40,000 pills of tramadol.
The seizure adds to concerns over the diversion and trafficking of pharmaceutical drugs with abuse potential, particularly opioids and sedatives.
At the Seme border in Badagry, Lagos, NDLEA operatives arrested five suspects in connection with the movement of 420 cartons of nitrous oxide, popularly known as laughing gas.
The consignment weighed 1,688.4 kilogrammes and was intercepted alongside two vehicles allegedly used to transport it from the border into Lagos.
The suspects are Kingsley John, 40; John Chibuike Okeke, 44; Lamidi Ismaila, 40; Babatunde Samuel, 42; and Afeesu Idowu, 47.
Beyond seizures and arrests, the agency said its Commands and formations across the country continued with War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation programmes targeting schools, worship centres, workplaces and communities.
Commending the officers and men of the MMIA, AIIA, Lagos, Oyo, Edo, Seme and Bauchi Commands for the operations, NDLEA Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (rtd), urged personnel across the country to sustain what he described as the agency’s balanced approach to drug control.
The latest operations come amid the NDLEA’s continuing nationwide campaign against drug trafficking, illicit pharmaceutical distribution and cannabis cultivation, combining interdiction and prosecution with public sensitisation and prevention programmes.
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