The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has uncovered 70 parcels of cocaine concealed within cocoa butter body cream containers destined for London, United Kingdom, as part of a coordinated anti-narcotics operation across several Nigerian states.
According to a statement released on Sunday by NDLEA spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, the drug consignment, weighing 3.60 kilogrammes, was intercepted on 14th October 2025 at the export shed of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos, during routine examination of cargoes tagged as personal effects on an Air Peace flight.
A cargo agent, Lawal Mustapha Olakunle, who presented the shipment for airfreight, was arrested immediately. Subsequent investigations led to the arrest of Ogunmuyide Taiwo Deborah, a healthcare worker, and Mutiu Adebayo Adebiyi, Chief Executive Officer of a travel agency, Mutiu Adebiyi & Co, at his office in Ikeja GRA, Lagos.
In a related development, NDLEA officers at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport (AIIA), Enugu, thwarted an attempt by Lemena Mark, a 35-year-old Lesotho national, to smuggle 103.59 grammes of methamphetamine concealed in a Diabeto’s Herbs coffee tea pack on an Ethiopian Airlines flight to the Philippines on 22nd October.
Elsewhere, 21,950 capsules of tramadol (250mg) were recovered from a 100-litre water heater following the arrest of Umar Abubakar, 40, in Bode Saadu, Moro Local Government Area of Kwara State.
In Lagos, NDLEA operatives raided Proxy Nightclub at 7 Akin Adesola Street, Victoria Island, in the early hours of Sunday, 26th October, disrupting what was described as a “drug party.” Over 100 people were detained for screening, including the club owner, Mike Eze Nwalie Nwogu, popularly known as Pretty Mike. Cartons of Loud (a strain of cannabis) and laughing gas were seized during the operation, which followed intelligence that the venue had hosted several narcotics-related events.
In Taraba State, Auwal Musa, 26, and Salihu Bala, 22, were apprehended with 450,000 pills of tramadol and Exol-5 at the Dan-anacha checkpoint while transporting the consignment in a truck loaded with building materials from Onitsha to Mubi, Adamawa State.
Similarly, NDLEA officers patrolling the Okene–Lokoja highway in Kogi State intercepted a truck conveying 162.2 kilogrammes of skunk on 24th October, while another 128 kilogrammes of the same substance were seized from Abubakar Muhammad, 55, in Keffi, Nasarawa State, two days earlier.
A major distributor of Canadian Loud and California Loud, Oyonumoh Glory Effiong, was arrested on 17th October in Lekki, Lagos, where 500 grammes of the illicit substance were found in her residence. In another operation in Ikorodu, officers recovered 275 litres of skuchies — a cocktail made with blackcurrant drink, cannabis, and opioids — from the home of Ogunyabo Adenigbigbe at Solomade Estate.
In Abia State, a 75-year-old man, Echendu Onuoka, was arrested with 4.7 kilogrammes of skunk in Ovum village, Obingwa Local Government Area, while a 60-year-old woman, Aukana John, was caught with 225 grammes of the same substance at Apanta village in the same area.
At Seme border, NDLEA officers arrested Jacob Ojugbele with 55 kilogrammes of skunk at Ashipa, Badagry, and Amusa Oluwabukola with 121.3 litres of skuchies at Itoga. In Zamfara State, Abubakar Ibrahim, 30, was arrested on the Gummi–Anka road with an AK-47 rifle and 1,746 rounds of assorted ammunition. He has since been handed over to the appropriate security agency for further investigation.
Meanwhile, the agency intensified its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation campaign in schools, religious institutions, and communities across several states, including Oyo, Enugu, Taraba, Benue, and Kano.
Commending the officers involved in the operations, NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), urged them to sustain the “balanced approach” to drug control through enforcement and public enlightenment.
“The Agency will continue to ensure that traffickers and users are not only apprehended but that communities are educated on the dangers of substance abuse,” Marwa said.
