The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has announced a series of significant arrests and seizures, highlighting the agency’s ongoing efforts to combat drug trafficking in Nigeria. Two Brazil returnees, Ofoma Sunday and Ukachukwu Frank Ikechukwu, were arrested at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos after ingesting a total of 116 wraps of heroin and cocaine.
Ofoma, 46, was taken into custody on September 16 after arriving from Brazil on an Ethiopian Airlines flight. A body scan confirmed the presence of illicit drugs, and he subsequently excreted 111 wraps of heroin weighing 1.452 kilograms. A follow-up operation led to the arrest of Nweke Jude Chuckwudi, 55, who was allegedly involved in overseeing the excretion of the drugs at a hotel in Lagos.
Ukachukwu, another Brazil returnee, was arrested on September 19 after a body scan revealed the presence of cocaine. He confessed to inserting nine wraps of the drug into his anus, but was only able to reinsert seven wraps after experiencing severe anal pain during his transit in Addis Ababa. He expelled five big wraps of cocaine weighing 145 grams while under observation.
In a separate incident, a businesswoman, Okolonkwo Ebere Theresa, was arrested on September 14 for concealing illicit drugs in her underwear while attempting to board a Qatar Airways flight to Doha. Two big parcels of white crystalline substance, later tested positive to methamphetamine, were recovered from her with a gross weight of 1.40 kilograms.
The NDLEA also intercepted a consignment of food items used to conceal 40 wraps of methamphetamine at the Lagos airport, as well as a shipment of phone chargers containing 257 grams of cocaine at a courier company in Lagos. In Adamawa, no fewer than 233,800 pills of tramadol were recovered in three raids, with two suspects arrested.
The agency’s efforts to disrupt drug trafficking networks have led to the seizure of large quantities of illicit substances, including 109 bags of skunk weighing 1,099.4 kilograms in Zamfara state. The NDLEA has continued its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitization activities, targeting schools, worship centers, and communities across the country.
According to the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa, these arrests and seizures represent a significant milestone in the agency’s determined effort to dismantle drug trafficking organizations operating in Nigeria and around the world. The NDLEA will continue to prioritize efforts to protect Nigeria’s productive youth population from the harm caused by illicit substances.
