The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intercepted large consignments of heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine, skunk, and opioids in a series of coordinated operations across Nigeria, including major seizures at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, and in several northern states.

In a statement issued on Sunday by its Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, the agency revealed that two returnees from Brazil were placed under observatory custody, during which they excreted a total of 116 wraps of heroin and cocaine. Other suspects were apprehended while concealing drugs in unusual items, such as underwear, food packages, and phone chargers.

One of the suspects, 46-year-old Ofoma Sunday, was arrested on Tuesday, September 16, at Terminal 2 of MMIA after arriving from Brazil via Addis Ababa on an Ethiopian Airlines flight. A body scan confirmed drug ingestion, and he subsequently excreted 111 wraps of heroin weighing 1.452kg in eight batches.

A follow-up operation led to the arrest of 55-year-old Nweke Jude Chuckwudi at a hotel in Amuwo Odofin, Lagos, where he was assigned to oversee the recovery of the drugs. Similarly, another Brazilian returnee, Ukachukwu Frank Ikechukwu, was arrested at the Lagos airport on Friday, September 19, while clearing passengers from an Ethiopian Airlines flight. Medical checks revealed he had ingested cocaine. Under observation, he excreted five wraps weighing 145 grams. He later confessed that he had inserted nine wraps in Brazil but lost some during transit through Addis Ababa.

In another case, NDLEA operatives arrested 38-year-old businesswoman, Okolonkwo Ebere Theresa, on Sunday, September 14, after Aviation Security officials and NDLEA personnel discovered 1.40kg of methamphetamine hidden in her butt pad underwear as she attempted to board a Qatar Airways flight to Doha. She admitted to previously trading in used clothing and operating a POS business in Enugu before venturing into drug trafficking.

At the NAHCO export shed of Lagos airport on Monday, September 15, operatives intercepted food packages bound for Hong Kong via Turkish Airlines, which contained 40 wraps of methamphetamine weighing 2.30kg. The consignor, 59-year-old Umelo Ifeanyi Venatus, was arrested.

On Thursday, September 18, NDLEA operatives at a courier company in Lagos also intercepted a consignment packaged for Europe. Seven phone chargers destined for New Zealand were found to contain 257 grams of cocaine.

Outside Lagos, major crackdowns were carried out in the North. In Adamawa, 233,800 tramadol pills were recovered in three separate operations. Nearly 196,000 pills were abandoned in a Toyota Sienna vehicle in Mayo Belwa, while a suspect, Rita Zira, was arrested in Jambutu, Yola, with 27,900 pills hidden in her home. Another suspect, 22-year-old Halilu Abubakar, was caught at Namtari checkpoint with 10,300 pills.

In Zamfara State, operatives supported by the Community Protection Guards seized 109 bags of skunk weighing 1,099.4kg from a Mitsubishi Canter truck along Gummi–Daki Takwas Road. The driver, 40-year-old Hammed Danladi Aliyu, was taken into custody.

Further seizures included 14,000 tramadol capsules recovered from two suspects along the Damaturu–Potiskum road in Yobe, and three sacks of skunk weighing 25.5kg confiscated from 28-year-old Anas Hamisu in Taraba.

In Edo State, NDLEA officers destroyed two cannabis farms spanning over four hectares in Atororo forest, Owan West LGA, with an estimated yield of 11,330kg. Eleven bags of processed skunk weighing 148kg were also confiscated, and three suspects — Mathew Onoja, 56; Moses Thomas Male, 18; and Friday Uchenjin, 38 — were arrested.

Meanwhile, the agency continued its sensitisation campaign under the War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) initiative, holding outreach programmes in schools, religious centres, and workplaces across Sokoto, Katsina, Jigawa, Benue, and Kano states, among others.

NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive, Brig. Gen. Mohammed Buba Marwa (Retd.), commended the officers in Lagos, Adamawa, Zamfara, Edo, Taraba, and Yobe for their successful operations, describing the seizures as a major breakthrough in efforts to dismantle drug cartels.

“These arrests and seizures represent a significant step in our resolve to dismantle drug trafficking networks targeting our youth with illicit substances. We will not relent until these criminal groups are neutralised and Nigeria’s image is safeguarded globally,” Marwa said.

He urged NDLEA personnel nationwide to sustain the agency’s balanced approach to drug control, combining enforcement with advocacy.