A 62-year-old businessman, Nwabueze Nicholas Izueke, has been arrested by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport (MAKIA) while attempting to travel to China with 95 jumbo-sized wraps of cocaine concealed in his stomach.
The arrest took place during the outward clearance of passengers boarding an Ethiopian Airlines flight to China via Addis Ababa.
According to the NDLEA, on January 31, 2026, its operatives conducted a body scan on the suspect, which confirmed that he had ingested illicit drugs. Izueke was subsequently placed under excretion observation, during which he expelled a total of 95 pellets of cocaine over several excretions.
In his statement, Izueke said: “I decided to engage in illicit drug trafficking to raise enough money to complete the country home I am building in my village, Iwollo, in Enugu State.”
In a separate incident, NDLEA operatives recovered 627.7 kilograms of skunk, a strain of cannabis, from a warehouse at Fums Plaza, Kubwa, Federal Capital Territory (FCT). The recovery followed an operation that intercepted a syndicate attempting to smuggle methamphetamine concealed in MP3 speakers from Enugu to Abuja and Kaduna. So far, four suspects, including Ebube Okeke and Evans Ugwu, have been arrested in connection with the operation. A statement by the Director of Media and Advocacy of the NDLEA revealed that operations also continued in Taraba State, where a 32-year-old suspect, Yusuf Abubakar, was intercepted on February 6 while transporting packs of Hollandia yoghurt concealing 1.8 kilograms of methamphetamine.
In Oyo State, NDLEA officers arrested a Beninoise suspect, Shuaibu Abdulrahman, with 149.6 kilograms of skunk concealed in rice sacks. Additionally, two separate operations in Ibadan led to the arrest of Adeniyi Adeola, who was found with 10,820 ampoules of pentazocine and 117,820 capsules of tramadol, as well as a drug kingpin, Jimoh Nurudeen, who was in possession of precursor chemicals used for the production of synthetic cannabis.
Furthermore, NDLEA operatives in Kwara State intercepted a fuel tanker conveying 395,400 capsules of tramadol hidden within its cargo. On the same day, a couple was arrested in Imo State with 203 kilograms of skunk.
Reacting to the developments, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CCEO) of the NDLEA, Brigadier General Mohamed Marwa (Rtd.), commended the operatives for their efforts across various commands.
“I urge all our officers to maintain the current level of professionalism and commitment in all drug supply and demand reduction activities,” he said.
The guardian
