NDLEA intercepts drug traffickers, seizes cocaine, meth at airports

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has disrupted multiple attempts to smuggle significant quantities of cocaine, methamphetamine, and opioids through Nigeria’s major airports, leading to the arrest of several suspects.

A shipment of 13 parcels of cocaine weighing 4.4 kilogrammes was intercepted by NDLEA operatives at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, on November 5, 2024. The drugs were destined for the United Kingdom via Frankfurt on a Lufthansa Airlines flight.

Following the seizure, the agency tracked down the suspected mastermind, Ekeocha Anayo Nelson, arresting him on November 8, 2024. In a related operation, officers apprehended Adegbite Solomon (alias Obama) at the Lagos airport on November 11, 2024.

He was caught with 7,800 tramadol pills, 180 tablets of Rohypnol, and 60 bottles of codeine hidden in food items, intending to smuggle them to Italy aboard an Ethiopian Airlines flight. Solomon, who claimed to have previously travelled to Europe through the Mediterranean and lived as a street beggar, had recently ventured into the logistics business.

Additionally, NDLEA officers detained Anoke Kingsley Roomy on November 15, 2024, at the same airport while attempting to board another Ethiopian Airlines flight to Istanbul, Turkey. He was found with 1,100 pills of tramadol 225mg concealed in his luggage.

In Abuja, a joint operation between the Directorate of Operations and General Investigation (DOGI) and the FCT Command led to the arrest of Omeh Uchenna Jude, 36, and Anene Valentine Chigozie, 34. Acting on intelligence, operatives raided their hotel room in Lugbe on November 15, 2024, recovering 1.8 kilogrammes of methamphetamine intended for export to Qatar.

A separate operation in Surulere, Lagos, resulted in the capture of Akande Moruf Olasunkanmi and the seizure of 1.8 kilogrammes of methamphetamine following weeks of surveillance.

In another intelligence-led raid, officers foiled an attempt by a trans-border trafficker, Emmanuel Okechukwu Okeke, to smuggle 50,000 tramadol pills into Lagos from Ghana. The drugs were hidden in compartments of a Toyota Hummer bus intercepted at Ijanikin on the Lagos-Badagry Expressway.

Meanwhile, in Edo State, NDLEA operatives seized 997 kilogrammes of cannabis during raids. Notable recoveries included 680 kilogrammes in Orhionmwan Local Council and 180.5 kilogrammes from Cecilia Ibe in Ovia South West. Additional seizures were reported in Oyo, Kwara, and Kano states.