By Saminu Ibrahim
Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a 25-year-old businessman, Lovely Chukwulobelu, at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu, for allegedly attempting to traffic 72 wraps of cocaine to Portugal.
Chukwulobelu, who resides in Portugal, 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, the suspect had ingested the cocaine and was placed under excretion observation, during which he expelled all 72 wraps of the Class A illicit drug.
The agency said the suspect was wearing his wedding ring when he was arrested, having returned to Nigeria recently and married on September 13.
Chukwulobelu reportedly told investigators that he was previously involved in car decoration business at the Trade Fair Complex, Ojo, Lagos, before relocating to Portugal in May 2023.
He allegedly said he resorted to drug trafficking to offset expenses incurred during his wedding.
In a separate operation at the import shed of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, NDLEA operatives uncovered one of the agency’s biggest opioid seizures of the year.
The agency said three monitored consignments examined jointly on Tuesday, September 22, yielded 2,550,000 pills of Tramaking 225mg, Tramaking 250mg and Royal Tapentadol 250mg, with a combined gross weight of 1,640.55kg.
The consignments were imported from India and Bangladesh through Qatar Airways, RwandAir and Ethiopian Airlines.
In Bauchi, NDLEA operatives arrested two suspects, Umar Hamidu, 35, and Abdulkarim Salihu, 45, along the Maiduguri bypass with 300 compressed blocks of skunk weighing 262.5kg.
The cannabis was allegedly concealed in the false bottom of a truck marked MUB757 YH.
Similarly, two cannabis farms with an estimated combined yield of 1,360.23kg were destroyed at Eko Camp, Ilushi, Edo State, on Wednesday, September 23. The operation was conducted by NDLEA officers with the support of soldiers.
In Lagos, two women, Odumabo Kehinde, 36, and Obiekwe Chioma, 40, were arrested on Saturday, September 26, when NDLEA operatives raided Anifowoshe Street, Mushin, recovering 3.4kg of skunk.
Also in Lagos, NDLEA officers intercepted a 58-year-old man, Ugwu Johnson, at Ebute-Ero Motor Park on the same day.
The agency said Johnson was found with 5.920kg of skunk, 2,400 ampoules of pentazocine injection, 8,400 tablets of nitrazepam and 40,000 pills of tramadol.
In Oyo State, two Togolese nationals, Yinusa Abdulsamad, 35, and Fatai Baba, 33, were arrested along the Iganna-Ilero Road, Iganna, with 305.6kg of skunk.
The NDLEA said the suspects were allegedly using two pick-up vans to transport cannabis sourced from Ghana into Nigeria through the Oyo axis.
At the Seme border in Badagry, Lagos State, five suspects were arrested with 420 cartons of nitrous oxide, popularly known as laughing gas, weighing 1,688.4kg.
The suspects were identified as Kingsley John, 40; John Chibuike Okeke, 44; Lamidi Ismaila, 40; Babatunde Samuel, 42; and Afeesu Idowu, 47.
Two vehicles allegedly used to convey the consignment from the border into Lagos were also recovered.
Meanwhile, NDLEA Commands and formations across the country continued their War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation campaigns in schools, worship centres, workplaces and communities.
The agency said sensitisation lectures were delivered at Community High School, Saki, Oyo State; Auchi College, Auchi, Edo State; Alkali Modibbo Islamic Centre, Dukku, Gombe State; and Junior Arabic Secondary School, Kahu, Kibiya Local Government Area of Kano State.
The Delta Ports Command also paid a WADA advocacy visit to the Olu of Warri, His Royal Majesty Ogiame Atuwatshe III, in Delta State.
The Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), commended officers and men of the MMIA, AIIA, Lagos, Oyo, Edo, Seme and Bauchi Commands for the successful operations.
Marwa urged personnel across the country to sustain the agency’s balanced approach to drug control, combining enforcement operations with drug abuse prevention and public sensitisation.
