Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a Brazil-based Nigerian businessman at Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos, for allegedly concealing cocaine on his body and inside his footwear.
NDLEA Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, disclosed this in a statement on Sunday.
According to Babafemi, the suspect, 47-year-old Uche Franklin Onyekwere, was arrested on Thursday, January 29, 2026, at the airport’s arrival hall during inward clearance of passengers on a South African Airways flight from Brazil via Johannesburg, following actionable intelligence.
A body scan conducted on Onyekwere reportedly confirmed the presence of illicit drugs, prompting a strip search.
“A large parcel of a white powdery substance, later confirmed as cocaine, was found wrapped around his right thigh,” the statement said. “A further search revealed two additional wraps concealed in the soles of his shoes. In total, three wraps of cocaine, weighing 1.60 kilograms, were recovered from his body and footwear.”
During preliminary interrogation, Onyekwere reportedly admitted purchasing the drugs in Brazil to resell in Nigeria to raise capital for his business and fund the naming ceremony of his newborn child. He told authorities he has lived in São Paulo since 2008 and has operated a toy business there for about nine years.
In a related development, NDLEA operatives at Lagos’ Tincan Seaport intercepted 55 jumbo bags of “Canadian Loud,” a potent strain of cannabis, weighing 1,183 kilograms. The shipment, imported from Montreal, Canada, was hidden inside two vehicles—a Hyundai SUV and a Toyota Matrix.
Additionally, in Niger State, officers intercepted a truck carrying 176 bags of skunk cannabis weighing 2,735 kilograms, along with one kilogram of synthetic cannabis (Colorado), leading to the arrest of three suspects: Andy Chidogu, 49; Kenneth Ogene, 45; and Sadiq Olanrewaju, 27.
