NDLEA Intercepts China-Bound Businesswoman with Cocaine, Seizes ₦12.3bn Cannabis at Lagos Port

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intensified its nationwide crackdown on illicit drug trafficking, recording several major arrests and drug seizures across the country.

At the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, NDLEA operatives arrested Iwebema Ogechi Peace, a 38-year-old businesswoman, while attempting to board a Qatar Airways flight to Beijing, China, with 7.5 kilograms of cocaine concealed in the false bottom of her luggage.

In a separate operation, the agency intercepted 4,959 kilograms of Canadian Loud cannabis, estimated to be worth ₦12.397 billion, concealed in a 40-foot container at the Apapa Port, Lagos. According to the NDLEA, the shipment was tracked for four weeks from Toronto, Canada, through Morocco, before arriving in Nigeria.

The agency also dismantled a drug trafficking syndicate accused of secretly planting illicit drugs in the luggage of unsuspecting passengers at motor parks. The operation began with the interception of 467.7 grams of methamphetamine in a commercial bus travelling from Anambra State to Abuja, leading to the arrest of several suspects, including the alleged owner of the drugs, Onyebuchi Victor Okoye.

In another operation in Lagos, officers seized 209.5 kilograms of Scottish Loud cannabis reportedly destined for Enugu State and arrested Ikechukwu Uwakwe in connection with the consignment.

The NDLEA also arrested two Beninese nationals and a Nigerian after uncovering 558,900 tablets of 250mg tramadol concealed in a specially fabricated compartment of a truck travelling from Togo through the Benin Republic into Nigeria.

Additional operations led to the arrest of two suspects transporting 118 kilograms of skunk along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, while Helen Ese Idiji and Rashidat Sa'adullah were apprehended in Amukoko, Lagos, with 28.8 kilograms of skunk allegedly stored for distribution.

Beyond enforcement, the agency continued its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) campaign through sensitisation programmes conducted in schools and communities across Yobe, Lagos, Kano, Kogi, and Enugu states.

Commending officers involved in the operations, NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd.), urged personnel to sustain the agency's dual strategy of aggressive drug supply reduction and continuous public awareness campaigns against drug abuse.