NDLEA Intercepts Cocaine Hidden in Mortar, Backpack Bound for China, Italy, Arrests Suspects Across Nigeria
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intercepted cocaine consignments concealed inside a local mortar and the false bottom of a backpack destined for China and Italy through a Lagos logistics company, while also arresting suspected drug traffickers and intercepting large quantities of illicit substances in coordinated operations across several states.
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has recorded fresh successes in its nationwide anti-drug operations, intercepting cocaine shipments cleverly concealed in a local mortar and a backpack intended for export to China and Italy, while arresting suspected drug traffickers in Rivers, Anambra, Delta, Nasarawa and Zamfara states.
According to the agency, operatives of the Directorate of Operations and General Investigations (DOGI) made the seizures on Thursday, July 30, 2026, at a logistics company in Lagos.
The intercepted consignments included 250 grams of cocaine factory-fitted into the base of a locally made mortar packaged for shipment to China and another 500 grams concealed in the false bottom of a backpack destined for Italy.
In Rivers State, NDLEA operatives arrested a 38-year-old suspected notorious drug dealer, Ugo Gift Okonkwo, at Eagle Island in Port Harcourt following credible intelligence. The suspect was apprehended on Sunday, July 26, with quantities of cannabis, cocaine, methamphetamine, Swinol, tramadol and codeine syrup.
In a separate operation in Anambra State, NDLEA officers on stop-and-search duty at the DMGS Roundabout in Onitsha intercepted a truck with registration number XK 131 BDG loaded with 26,000 bottles of codeine syrup weighing 3,960 kilograms. The truck driver, Chinedu Nwanze, 40, was arrested.
Similarly, operatives in Delta State recovered 331.84 kilograms of skunk from a Toyota Sienna bus with registration number KUJ 26 DV along the Kwale-Ughelli Expressway on Sunday, July 26.
In Nasarawa State, NDLEA officers arrested a 64-year-old suspect, Joseph Nwaeke, at Asso Angwan Muazu in the Karu area on Tuesday, July 28. He was found in possession of 68 kilograms of skunk and 29 grams of methamphetamine.
Also in Zamfara State, NDLEA operatives on patrol along the Zaria-Gusau Highway intercepted 27-year-old Sani Umar on Monday, July 27, with 7,400 tablets of tramadol 225mg suspected to have been intended for supply to criminal elements operating in the area.
Beyond enforcement activities, the agency said its Commands and formations sustained nationwide advocacy under the War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) campaign through sensitisation programmes in schools, communities, workplaces and motor parks.
Some of the awareness campaigns were held at Hausawa Special Primary School in Kano, Royal Crown School in Oluyole, Ibadan, Government Secondary School in Ibi, Taraba State, and among commercial drivers at Challenge Bus Terminal Park in Ibadan.
Commending officers of the Directorate of Operations and General Investigations as well as the Rivers, Anambra, Delta, Nasarawa and Zamfara Commands for the successful operations, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), urged personnel across the country to sustain the agency's balanced approach to drug supply reduction and demand reduction through enforcement and public enlightenment.
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