Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a 41-year-old alleged ex-convict and Malaysian returnee, Ndubuisi Udatu, also known as Richard, for attempting to traffic methamphetamine concealed in two giant music speakers.
In a statement released on Sunday and made available to The Telegraph, NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi said Udatu was intercepted on Monday, April 7, 2025, at a checkpoint in Namtari, along the Ngurore–Yola Road in Adamawa State. He was traveling in a commercial transport bus when officers discovered two new music speakers containing four large parcels of methamphetamine weighing 2.7 kilograms. He was also found with a monetary exhibit of ₦22,300.
According to the agency, Udatu confessed during interrogation that he had previously been arrested, convicted, and imprisoned in Malaysia for drug trafficking. Upon completing his sentence, he returned to Nigeria to continue the illicit trade, with plans to distribute the drugs in Yola, Mubi, and across the border into Cameroon.
In a separate operation, NDLEA operatives, in a joint effort with the Nigeria Customs Service, apprehended a trans-border drug trafficker, 35-year-old Odoh Peter Ikechukwu, at the Mfum border post in Cross River State. He was found in possession of 8,740 ampoules of various injectable opioids, including fentanyl, morphine sulphate, phenobarbital sulphate, pethidine, and midazolam, with a combined weight of 395 kilograms.
Elsewhere, in Kano, NDLEA officers arrested 27-year-old Aliyu Ibrahim on Friday, April 11, in the Bachirawa area. He was caught with 20 ATM cards and 25,600 pills of tramadol, in both 225mg and 250mg doses.
Another suspect, 48-year-old Gambo Lawan, was arrested in a follow-up operation at Wazobia Motor Park in Gwagwalada, Abuja. His arrest was linked to a separate seizure made on April 7 during a routine highway check along the Gwagwalada Expressway, where NDLEA officials recovered 8,960 tramadol pills.
In Niger State, a routine patrol along the Mokwa–Jebba Road led to the recovery of 124 kilograms of skunk, a potent strain of cannabis. The drugs were found packed in 11 jumbo bags stored in the boot of a Lexus car with registration number KTU 54 CU, driven by 58-year-old Ademiluyi Adedapo Collins. The interception took place on Friday, April 11.
The NDLEA reaffirmed its commitment to sustaining its nationwide clampdown on drug trafficking, smuggling, and abuse, warning traffickers that no region is beyond the reach of the law.
