Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested two businessmen, Ihejirika Okechukwu Emmanuel and Iwuagwu Ikedi Victory, along with a Canada-based nurse, Usman Grace Khadijat Olami, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, for their involvement in cocaine and synthetic cannabis (Loud) trafficking.
Ihejirika, a frequent traveler to Thailand, was apprehended on October 15, 2024, while attempting to board an Ethiopian Airlines flight to Thailand.
A body scan revealed he had ingested cocaine, and under excretion observation, he expelled five large wraps of cocaine weighing 400 grams.
The 51-year-old admitted he was promised payment for successfully delivering the drugs to Thailand, which he intended to use to fund his fish importation business.
Similarly, on October 17, 2024, NDLEA officers intercepted Iwuagwu Ikedi Victory, a 26-year-old businessman, during the inward clearance of passengers on an Ethiopian Airlines flight from Brazil.
A scan revealed he had ingested cocaine. He later excreted a pellet weighing 22 grams, confessing he had ingested 30 wraps in Brazil but excreted and handed over 29 pellets in Addis Ababa.
Iwuagwu disclosed that he was to be paid N2.5 million for the drug trafficking.
On October 4, 2024, NDLEA operatives also arrested Usman Grace Khadijat Olami, a Canadian-based nurse, during the inward clearance of Air France passengers arriving from Toronto via Paris.
A search of her luggage uncovered 70 parcels of Canadian Loud, a potent synthetic strain of cannabis, weighing 35.7 kg. Usman claimed she was instructed by her boyfriend to bring the consignment into Nigeria.
In a separate operation, NDLEA officers at the Apapa Seaport, Lagos, in collaboration with the Nigeria Customs Service, seized 162,351 bottles of codeine-based syrup from two containers on October 15, 2024.
On the same day, at the Port Harcourt Port Complex in Onne, Rivers State, NDLEA operatives intercepted a container from India containing over 7.2 million pills of Tapentadol and Carisoprodol, valued at N3.6 billion.
Additionally, 780 cartons containing 15.6 million pills of chlorphenamine, another opioid, were recovered.
Further searches on October 15 and 17 led to the discovery of 337,000 bottles of codeine-based syrup worth N2.36 billion in two other containers at Onne.
In Bauchi State, on October 15, NDLEA operatives arrested Sunday Jonathan Ogenyi, 33, with 76,600 Tramadol pills concealed in false compartments of his Toyota Sienna.
In Ondo State, the same day, three suspects—Goddey Obizuo, Samuel Aniete, and Kuffrey Aniete—were arrested with 672 kg of cannabis sativa at Afo Village.
In Edo State, a raid on Illushi Forest in Esan South East LGA resulted in the destruction of over 10,590 kg of cannabis spread across 4.2 hectares of farmland. Two suspects, Benson Upuoni, 65, and Sunday Nwaeboyi, 35, were arrested.
In Lagos, NDLEA operatives seized 3 kg of methamphetamine and 1.9 kg of cannabis from Andrew Joseph Anoriode along the Lagos-Ibadan expressway.
Another 241 kg of cannabis was recovered in the Gbaji, Badagry area. A suspected methamphetamine manufacturer, Agbeiboh Oscar, was arrested with 265 grams of methamphetamine and chemicals for drug production.
The NDLEA continues its “War Against Drug Abuse” (WADA) sensitization programs across the country, including outreach to schools, communities, and workplaces. Recent engagements include lectures at Ansarudeen Senior High School in Saki, Oyo State, Government Secondary School in Kano, Margaret Ekpo Secondary School in Calabar, and Agbaju Unuhu Community Secondary School in Abakaliki. The agency also paid an advocacy visit to the Emir of Lafiagi, Kwara State.
Chairman/CEO of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), commended the efforts of officers and operatives across the country, particularly for their balanced approach to drug supply and demand reduction.
