Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a 62-year-old Lagos-based businessman, Nwabueze Nicholas Izueke, at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport (MAKIA), Kano, while attempting to travel to China with 95 jumbo-sized wraps of cocaine concealed in his stomach.
According to NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, the suspect was intercepted on Saturday, January 31, 2026, during outward clearance for passengers boarding Ethiopian Airlines flight ET940 to China via Addis Ababa. A body scan confirmed ingestion of illicit substances, prompting authorities to place him under medical observation.
During the observation period, Izueke expelled 95 pellets of cocaine in seven excretions, with a combined weight of 1.589 kilograms. He reportedly told investigators he ventured into drug trafficking to raise funds needed to complete a country home in Iwollo, Enugu State.
Beyond the airport arrest, NDLEA operatives recorded multiple seizures and arrests across the country in coordinated anti-drug operations.
In the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), officers recovered 627.7 kilograms of skunk, a strain of cannabis, from a makeshift warehouse at Fums Plaza in Kubwa. Attempts to smuggle methamphetamine hidden inside MP3 speakers from Enugu to Abuja and Kaduna were also foiled. Follow-up operations led to arrests in Zuba, FCT, and Kaduna State, where suspects arrived to claim the consignments.
At the Dan-Anacha patrol point in Taraba State, operatives intercepted yogurt packs being transported from Lagos to Mubi, Adamawa State. Intelligence-driven searches uncovered 1.8 kilograms of methamphetamine concealed within the packages.
In Oyo State, NDLEA officers arrested a Beninoise national and seized 149.6 kilograms of skunk hidden in rice chaff at Ibudo-Igboho village. Another operation in Ibadan led to the recovery of 10,820 ampoules of pentazocine injection and 117,820 capsules of tramadol from a suspect’s vehicle.
Operatives in Ibadan also dismantled a facility used to produce Colorado, a synthetic cannabis variant. The alleged kingpin, Jimoh Nurudeen, and an accomplice were arrested at Badeku, where officers recovered precursor chemicals, cannabis, production equipment, ₦7.4 million in cash, and two vehicles.
Additional seizures were recorded nationwide.
In Kwara State, a petrol tanker transporting tramadol capsules concealed within the vehicle was intercepted.
In Imo State, a couple was arrested with over 200 kilograms of skunk.
In Ondo State, 420 kilograms of skunk were recovered from a forest location.
At Badagry, Lagos, marine operatives seized cocaine hidden in a handbag from a traveler arriving by boat from Côte d’Ivoire.
Further arrests in Lagos and Enugu yielded cannabis, methamphetamine, cocaine, synthetic drugs, and cash exhibits.
Meanwhile, the agency said its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitization campaign continued nationwide with advocacy programmes in schools, communities, and traditional institutions across Anambra, Oyo, Lagos, and Niger states.
NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), commended officers involved in the operations and urged commands nationwide to sustain professionalism in both drug supply reduction and public enlightenment efforts.
NDLEA arrests a Lagos businessman with 95 cocaine pellets at Kano airport and records major drug seizures, meth interceptions, and factory busts across multiple Nigerian states.
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