Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a 25-year-old businessman at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu, for allegedly attempting to traffic 72 wraps of cocaine to Portugal.
The suspect was intercepted at the airport’s departure hall on Thursday, September 25, 2026, while attempting to board an Ethiopian Airlines flight to Portugal via Addis Ababa.
According to the NDLEA, in a statement issued on Sunday, the suspect had ingested the cocaine and was placed under observation for excretion following his arrest. The agency said he subsequently excreted all 72 wraps of the Class A drug.
The suspect reportedly told investigators that he previously operated a car-decoration business at the Trade Fair Complex in the Ojo area of Lagos before relocating to Portugal in May 2023.
He had recently returned to Nigeria and got married on September 13, 2026. The NDLEA said he told investigators that he resorted to the alleged drug trafficking in an attempt to offset expenses incurred during his wedding.
NDLEA seizes 2.55m opioid pills in Lagos
In a separate operation at the import shed of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos, NDLEA operatives seized what the agency described as one of its biggest opioid consignments of the year.
The seizure followed a joint examination of three monitored consignments on Tuesday, September 22.
The agency said a total of 2,550,000 pills of Tramaking 225mg, Tramaking 250mg and Royal Tapentadol 250mg were recovered.
The consignments, which had a combined gross weight of 1,640.55 kilogrammes, were imported from India and Bangladesh through Qatar Airways, RwandAir and Ethiopian Airlines.
Cannabis seizures in Bauchi, Edo and Lagos
In Bauchi State, NDLEA operatives arrested two suspects, aged 35 and 45, along the Maiduguri bypass and recovered 300 compressed blocks of skunk, a strain of cannabis, weighing 262.5 kilogrammes.
The agency said the cannabis was concealed in a false compartment of a truck.
In Edo State, NDLEA officers, supported by soldiers, destroyed two cannabis farms at Eko Camp, Ilushi, with a combined estimated yield of 1,360.23 kilogrammes.
In Lagos, two women, aged 36 and 40, were arrested on Saturday, September 26, during a raid on Anifowoshe Street, Mushin. Officers recovered 3.4 kilogrammes of skunk from the operation.
Also on Saturday, NDLEA officers intercepted a 58-year-old man at Ebute-Ero motor park and recovered 5.920 kilogrammes of skunk, 2,400 ampoules of pentazocine injection, 8,400 tablets of nitrazepam and 40,000 pills of tramadol.
305.6kg of cannabis seized in Oyo
Two Togolese nationals, aged 35 and 33, were also arrested along the Iganna-Ilero road in Iganna, Oyo State.
The NDLEA said 305.6 kilogrammes of skunk were recovered from two pickup vans allegedly used to transport cannabis sourced from Ghana into Nigeria through the Oyo axis.
At the Seme border in Badagry, Lagos, NDLEA operatives arrested five suspects and recovered 420 cartons of nitrous oxide, popularly known as laughing gas.
The agency said the consignment weighed 1,688.4 kilogrammes and was being transported from the border into Lagos in two vehicles.
NDLEA continues WADA sensitisation
Meanwhile, NDLEA commands and formations across the country continued their War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation activities during the week.
The agency said its officers conducted awareness programmes at schools, worship centres, workplaces and communities, including institutions in Oyo, Edo, Gombe and Kano states.
The Delta Ports Command also paid a WADA advocacy visit to the Olu of Warri, Ogiame Atuwatshe III, in Delta State.
The NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), commended the officers and personnel involved in the various operations.
He urged them and their colleagues across the country to sustain the agency’s balanced approach to drug control efforts.
