NDLEA Intercepts Businessman with 6.1kg Cocaine Concealed in Shirts, Towels from Brazil, Arrests Drug Suspects Nationwide
LAGOS, Nigeria — Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a Brazil-based businessman, Abugu Oliver Ikechukwu, for attempting to smuggle 6.10 kilograms of liquid cocaine into Nigeria through the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos. The illicit substance was ingeniously concealed in shirts and towels imported from Brazil.
The 41-year-old suspect was apprehended on Thursday, June 11, 2026, upon his arrival from São Paulo, Brazil, via Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, aboard an Ethiopian Airlines flight. According to the NDLEA, a detailed search of his luggage uncovered 14 towels and shirts impregnated with liquid cocaine, which had been dried and carefully ironed to evade detection.
During interrogation, Abugu reportedly told investigators that he had lived in Brazil for over 14 years, where he operates an African restaurant. He claimed he travelled to Nigeria to visit his wife and purchase food items in bulk for his business.
In a related development, NDLEA operatives arrested two persons living with disabilities for alleged involvement in illicit drug trafficking in Abia and Rivers states.
A 60-year-old woman, Chidimma Sunday, was arrested in Abia State after members of the Umuosu Vigilante Group in Umuna Autonomous Community, Isialangwa North Local Government Area, caught her with 1.8 kilograms of skunk and handed her over to NDLEA officials on June 10.
Similarly, in Rivers State, 28-year-old Abubakar Usman was arrested during a raid at Rumuokoro, Port Harcourt, on June 9. Recovered from him were 400 grams of skunk, five grams of methamphetamine, 100 grams of tramadol, five grams of swinol, and 18 grams of diazepam.
In Delta State, NDLEA officers arrested 36-year-old Onya Jude at Ogwashi-Uku in Aniocha South Local Government Area on June 8. He was found with five gas cylinders specially modified to conceal 2.8 kilograms of Loud, a potent strain of cannabis.
The agency also recorded significant arrests in Gombe State, where two suspected drug dealers, Jamilu Idris, popularly known as "Jama," and Aminu Abdullahi, alias "Momo," were apprehended at Kasuwan Katako with 2.738 kilograms of skunk.
In Kano State, officers intercepted Ngozi Gaius, 39, along the Zaria-Kano Road on June 12 while transporting 6,000 pills of Tramadol 225mg.
Meanwhile, two suspects, Nasiru Hamza, 47, and Muhammad Sani, 38, were arrested along Bode Saadu Road in Kwara State while transporting 600 compressed blocks of skunk weighing 304 kilograms in a Toyota Jeep bearing registration number PJHR 783.
One of the largest seizures during the period occurred in Taraba State, where NDLEA operatives raided the warehouse of a suspected drug baron, Ali Adamu, 45, in Maihula Village, Bali Local Government Area. The operation, carried out on June 13, led to the recovery of 63 jumbo bags of cannabis sativa weighing 1,121.5 kilograms.
On the same day, NDLEA officers on patrol along the Gwagwalada Expressway in the Federal Capital Territory arrested Emmanuel Nnadi, 46. Seized from him were 30,400 pills of tramadol in varying strengths, 750 pills of pregabalin 300mg, 200 pills of Molly, and 592 bottles of codeine-based syrup.
In Lagos, operatives recovered a massive consignment of Ghana Loud weighing 1,102 kilograms around Alaba International Market in Ojo on June 13.
Beyond enforcement operations, the NDLEA continued its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation campaign across schools, communities, traditional institutions, and workplaces nationwide. Awareness programmes were conducted at Government Science School, Lafia, Nasarawa State; Community Secondary School, Imufu, Enugu State; Araromi Junior Secondary School, Ijora, Lagos; and St. Charles College, Onitsha, Anambra State. The agency also engaged traditional leaders in Minjibir Local Government Area of Kano State and paid an advocacy visit to the Paramount Ruler of Eberi Omuma Kingdom in Rivers State.
Commending officers and personnel involved in the operations, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA, Mohamed Buba Marwa, praised commands in Lagos, Abia, Rivers, Kano, Kwara, Delta, Gombe, and the FCT for their achievements in reducing drug supply while sustaining public awareness campaigns.
He urged officers across the country to remain committed to surpassing previous operational records in the ongoing fight against illicit drug trafficking and abuse.
No comments