By Adams John.
Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have dismantled a drug trafficking network attempting to smuggle cocaine and other illicit substances to and from Nigeria, arresting multiple suspects, including a fashion designer.
The agency disclosed on Sunday that officers at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos, intercepted 12 parcels of cocaine weighing 2.80 kilograms concealed in false bottoms of food flasks.
The consignment was bound for the United
Kingdom on a Virgin Atlantic flight.
Two cargo agents, Ama Obinna Ufeim, 33, and Ogabi Monday Akorede, 39, were arrested at the export shed on April 9.
A follow-up operation led to the arrest of the alleged sender, 52-year-old freight forwarder, Agoro Tajudeen Moninuola.
In a related development, NDLEA operatives at the airport’s import shed intercepted 2.90 kilograms of “Loud,” a potent strain of cannabis, hidden in snack packs on a Delta Airlines flight from the United States. Two clearing agents, Animashaun Moshood Adetunji and Mercy Gabriel Oluwasegun, were initially arrested, while the consignee, Saheed Adeshina Adegoke, a 29-year-old fashion designer, was later apprehended in Ogba, Lagos.
Beyond Lagos, the agency recorded major seizures across several states. In Kaduna, operatives intercepted a cement-laden trailer along the Kaduna–Zaria highway and recovered 847 kilograms of skunk concealed in 760 blocks and 33 jumbo bags. The driver, Umar Garba Haruna, 33, was arrested.
In Cross River State, a joint operation involving NDLEA officers and soldiers led to the arrest of a 53-year-old woman, Alice Sunday Udoh, during a raid on a forest in Uwet community, Akamkpa Local Government Area.
About 15,000 kilograms of skunk cultivated on six hectares of
farmland were destroyed, while 119 kilograms were recovered.
Similarly, in Edo State, operatives raided a cannabis farm in Saboro camp, Ovia North East LGA, destroying over 2,281 kilograms of the substance. Three suspects—Nweke Smart, 27; Christopher Egbe, 62; and Monday Ayan, 45—were arrested, with the latter two found in possession of 38.5 kilograms of cannabis and seeds.
In Delta State, two suspects, Sunday Odili, 49, and Ijenebe Joshua, 39, were apprehended with 87.838 kilograms of skunk and seeds at the Powerline area of Okwo.
Back in Lagos, NDLEA operatives arrested two suspects, Chinedu Ogbekene and Zindozin Aloukou Bienvenu, along the Mile 2–Badagry Expressway while transporting 11,900 capsules of tramadol and 400 ampoules of phenobarbital injection to Ghana. A separate raid on a building in Petti, Lagos Island, led to the recovery of 95.8 kilograms of skunk.
The agency also intensified its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitization campaigns nationwide, reaching schools and communities in states including Niger, Cross River, Kogi, Katsina, Kano, and Lagos.
NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), commended officers across various commands for the successful operations, urging them to sustain the momentum in both enforcement and public awareness efforts.
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