Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have foiled bizarre plots by two drug traffickers to move consignments of cocaine and opioids hidden in their stomachs and fake baby bump through the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport (MAKIA), Kano and the Seme land border in Lagos to Europe and other destinations.
A statement by Femi Babafemi, Director, Media & Advocacy, NDLEA, on Sunday, revealed that NDLEA officers intercepted a Kano-based businesswoman, 35-year-old Rabi, at the departure tarmac of Seme land border with a fake protruding tummy on Monday, February 16, 2026, while attempting to cross to Cotonou in Benin Republic.
A full body search, the statement said, revealed the “pregnancy” was fake and her baby bump was designed with a pink coloured calabash used to conceal 3,200 capsules of tramadol, which she tied around her stomach and was taking to Cotonou to sell.
According to Babafemi, on the same day in Kano, NDLEA operatives at the screening point of the departure hall of MAKIA intercepted a 41-year-old Ivorian, Michael, during the outward clearance of passengers on Ethiopian Airlines flight ET940 to Milan, Malpensa via Addis Ababa.
When he was taken for a body scan, the result confirmed ingestion of illicit substances. He was placed under observation during which he excreted 82 wraps of cocaine weighing 1.49 kilogrammes, the NDLEA revealed.
Michael had arrived in Lagos from Milan on January 17, 2026 and was shuttling from Lagos to Enugu for three weeks.
He later travelled to Kano, where he stayed for a week before ingesting the cocaine consignment in his hotel room. He is expected to be paid 5,000 Euros when he delivers the drugs in Milan.
The suspect, who lives in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, claimed that his father is an Ivorian while his mother is from Enugu State.
NDLEA said that he applied for asylum in Italy in 2013 and obtained a resident permit, which expires May 25, 2026.
In another interdiction operation in Lagos, a suspect, Ugwuja, was nabbed with 56kg of skunk at Agbara on Thursday, February 19, while Ekwe was caught with 76kg of the same substance at a motor park in Oshodi on Tuesday, February 17
At the Port Harcourt Ports Complex, Onne, Rivers state, a total of 170, 900 bottles of codeine-based syrup were discovered in a container during a joint examination of the shipment by NDLEA officers, Customs and other security agencies. The request by NDLEA for a 100% physical examination and search of the container followed processed intelligence on the shipment.
No fewer than 7,300 pills of tramadol 225mg concealed in two sound systems were recovered by NDLEA operatives on patrol along Okene/Lokoja highway, Kogi State, during the search of a commuter bus coming from Lagos to Kano on Sunday, February 15.
A follow-up operation in Zuba, Abuja, on Tuesday, February 17, led to the arrest of the two suspects linked to the consignment.
In Ondo State, a suspect, Bright, 28, was arrested at Iju forest on Thursday, February 19, with 195kgof skunk and seeds, while another suspect, Godwin, was nabbed with 198kg of the same substance when NDLEA operatives raided their enclaves in the forest.
A total of 936 kilogrammes of skunk were seized from a suspect, Yahaya, 48, when he was arrested at Azare town, Katagun LGA, Bauchi, on Tuesday, February 17, while another 85.8kg of the same substance was recovered from Yahaya, Nasiru, 36, Abdul, 25, and Musa, 21, in Azare.
While 37kg of skunk was seized from Mgbeme, 34, at Club Street, Ekeredjebor, Ughelli, Delta state on Tuesday, February 17, NDLEA officers in Edo State same day, raided Etiosa camp in Owan West LGA, where they destroyed 1,266.8475kg skunk on three farms.
No less than 23kg of processed cannabis was equally recovered, with two suspects: a 68-year-old grandmother, Evelyn and a 43-year-old, Friday, apprehended.
With the same vigour, Commands and formations of the Agency across the country continued their War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation activities to schools, worship centres, work places and communities, among others, in the past week.
These include WADA sensitisation lecture to students and staff of Muslim Community High School, Ayetoro – Oke, Kajola LGA, Oyo; Government Girls Secondary School, Gadaka, Yobe; Owerri City Secondary School, Owerri, Imo; Government Day Secondary School, Tongo, Gombe; St. Catherine’s College, Igoli, Ogoja, Cross River; Government Senior Girls Secondary School, Kofar Kudu, Kano; and Model Government College, Ikorodu, Lagos state, among others.
While commending the officers and men of MAKIA, Seme, Lagos, Edo, Bauchi, PHPC, Ondo, Delta and Kogi Commands of the Agency for the arrests and seizures, Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd) stated that their operational successes and those of their compatriots across the country, especially their balanced approach to drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction efforts, are well appreciated.
THE SUN
