The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested two suspected drug kingpins at Port Harcourt International Airport and Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos, who excreted a combined total of 125 wraps of heroin.
NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi confirmed the arrests in a statement issued on Sunday, revealing that one of the suspects, Onyekwonike Elochuckwu Sylvanus, used dual identities to evade detection.
Port Harcourt arrest: Dual passports
Sylvanus, 30, was apprehended at Port Harcourt Airport on February 2, 2025, while attempting to enter Nigeria with a Sierra Leonean passport under the name Kargbo Mohamed Foday. He was intercepted during the inward clearance of passengers on a Qatar Airways flight from Doha via Abuja.
A body scan revealed he had ingested illicit drugs, and under observation, Sylvanus excreted 62 wraps of heroin weighing 1.348 kilograms over five sessions. Further investigation showed that Sylvanus used both his Nigerian and Sierra Leonean passports to facilitate drug trafficking between Thailand, Pakistan, Iran, and West Africa.
Sylvanus admitted to turning to drug trafficking full-time in 2017 after his clothing and shoe business collapsed.
Lagos arrest: Madagascar returnee
The second suspect, James Chinonso, 48, was arrested at Lagos Airport on February 1, 2025, after arriving from Madagascar via Ethiopia on an Ethiopian Airlines flight. A body scan revealed he had ingested illicit drugs, and he excreted 63 wraps of heroin weighing 909 grams under observation.
Chinonso had traveled to Madagascar on January 26, 2025, and returned a week later. He claimed to have turned to drug trafficking after his phone accessories business in Liberia failed.
Courier and highway operations
In a separate operation on February 6, NDLEA operatives intercepted 2.82 kilograms of “Loud,” a synthetic cannabis strain, smuggled from the United States and destined for Lagos. That same day, NDLEA officials discovered 80 ampoules of pentazocine injection (225 grams) concealed in cartons being shipped to Canada by a logistics firm in Lagos.
On February 3, NDLEA operatives in Kano arrested Usaini Salisu and Yahaya Mu’azu, both 23, at Gadar Tamburawa along Zaria Road, recovering 15,396 tramadol pills hidden in a gas cylinder. In a separate operation in Sabon Gari, Kano, Chioma Okeke, 35, was arrested with 27 blocks of skunk (15 kg of cannabis).
On February 8, NDLEA officers intercepted 12,800 tramadol 250mg pills along the Kabba-Obajana Highway in Kogi State and arrested Salisu Basiru, 33. The same day, 65 parcels of Colorado (1.6 kg of synthetic cannabis) headed for Jigawa State were recovered from Rufai Hassan, 32, at a checkpoint.
The NDLEA has vowed to continue intensifying crackdowns on drug syndicates across the country, further strengthening efforts to combat drug trafficking and abuse.
