The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a 48-year-old businessman, Nwankwo Innocent Onyebuchi, at the Lagos International Airport while heading to New Delhi, India, with 1.550 kilogrammes of cocaine cleverly concealed within the side walls and railings of his bag.
A statement by the Director, Media and Advocacy of the NDLEA, Mr Femi Babafemi, on Sunday said Nwankwo, who deals in marble in Lagos, was arrested at the departure hall of Terminal II of the Lagos airport while attempting to board a Qatar Airways flight to New Delhi, India. A search of his check-in bag uncovered 1.550 kilogrammes of cocaine factory-fitted into the walls and railings of the bag.
In a candid confession that lays bare the desperation that fuels the drug trade, Nwankwo said he had sold off his marble business and every asset he owned to raise the N23 million he paid for the consignment, with the expectation of selling it in India for as much as N100 million.
With his assets gone and his dream of transiting from a marble trader to a drug kingpin effectively shattered following his arrest, the suspect remains in custody awaiting prosecution and a possible prison sentence.
In another operation, NDLEA operatives, acting on credible intelligence, raided a warehouse within a residential compound at 20 Hakeem Dosumu Street, Ago Palace area of Okota, Lagos, where a massive stockpile of codeine-based syrup was discovered. A total of 3,776 cartons, comprising 377,600 bottles of the controlled substance valued at over N2.6 billion, were recovered between August 7 and 8, 2026.
In yet another intelligence-led operation, the statement said NDLEA operatives on August 14 raided the residence of a 55-year-old alleged drug kingpin, Shoremi Kayode, at 37 Ogundare Street, Ipaja Estate, Ipaja area of Lagos, recovering 324 kilogrammes of Colorado, a synthetic strain of cannabis, with a street value of N972 million. Also recovered from the suspect were a Mercedes-Benz car and a Toyota Corolla.
In Kwara State, Babafemi said two suspects, Abubakar Adamu and Bilyaminu Nuhu, were arrested on August 13 at Kam Wire area of Ilorin with 55.96 kilogrammes of skunk in a truck marked DKA 350 XL.
Meanwhile, two other suspects, 70-year-old Abdulfatai Oyelaran and Abdulrauf Ajadi, were arrested by NDLEA officers on patrol along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway in Ibadan, Oyo State, on August 12. Recovered from their Toyota Sienna vehicle marked FFA-115KA were 52,000 ampoules of pentazocine injection and 6,000 ampoules of tramadol injection.
A total of 124,100 pills of tramadol, 786 bottles of codeine syrup, 2,598 tablets of rohypnol, 4,800 tablets of diazepam, 470 ampoules of pentazocine injection and 200 ampoules of tramadol injection were recovered from two suspects, Osaro Ikpoba and Samuel Godbless, along the Onitsha-Asaba Expressway on August 13.
Another suspect, Emeka Tony, was arrested with 1,244 cartridges and a monetary exhibit of N800 million along the Kwale-Ozoro Expressway on August 12.
A Toyota Corolla car with registration number MKD 341 EA was intercepted by NDLEA operatives along the Riyom-Jos Road in Jos, Plateau State, where 239,490 capsules of Tramaforce, a brand of tramadol, were recovered and a suspect, Kasum Sherif, was arrested.
In Kano State, six suspects were arrested on August 10 by NDLEA operatives on patrol along the Zaria-Kano Road. They include Okodili Ibeabuchi, Onyeka Vincent, Nwanko Wisdom, Success Chigozie, Emmanuel Jude and Chinedu Peter.
Large consignments of opioids recovered from them included 728,958 pills of tramadol, rohypnol and others, as well as 360 grammes of cocaine, 99.8 grammes of methamphetamine, 50 bottles of codeine syrup and 2.7 kilogrammes of Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis.
Also in Kano State, NDLEA operatives on Friday raided Zawaciki Gida Dubu in Kumbotso Local Government Area, where they recovered 171 blocks of skunk weighing 106.8 kilogrammes and arrested two suspects, Mustapha Iliya and Abdulwahab Abdulrashid, in connection with the seizure.
A total of 4,628.9775 kilogrammes of skunk was destroyed on two cannabis farms measuring 1.851591 hectares at Ugboku/Igbanke Forest, Orhionmwon Local Government Area of Edo State, where a suspect, Agholor Elebojie, was arrested in one of the farms during a raid by NDLEA operatives on August 12.
The statement said another suspect, Kingsley Anigala, was arrested with 25.857 kilogrammes of Loud and 93 grammes of methamphetamine during a raid on drug joints in the Oluku area of Benin City on Friday.
The War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) social advocacy activities by NDLEA commands also continued across the country in the past week.
The Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA, Brig-Gen. Mohamed Marwa (rtd.), while commending the officers, men and women of the various commands of the agency for the arrests and seizures recorded during the past week, also praised their counterparts in all the commands across the country for pursuing a fair balance between drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction efforts.