Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has recorded a series of major anti-narcotics breakthroughs, arresting a 38-year-old businesswoman with 7.5 kilogrammes of cocaine at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos, and seizing cannabis worth over N12.4 billion at the Apapa Port, the agency announced on Sunday, June 28, 2026.
In a statement issued by the NDLEA Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, the agency said a 38-year-old businesswoman, Iwebema Ogechi Peace, was arrested at the departure hall of Terminal 2 of the MMIA on Sunday, June 21, 2026, while preparing to board a Qatar Airways flight to Beijing, China. According to the statement, the suspect, who claims she travels regularly to China to purchase goods for sale in Nigeria, was intercepted following credible intelligence. A search of her check-in luggage led to the discovery of four large parcels of cocaine, with a combined weight of 7.5 kilogrammes, expertly concealed in a professionally fabricated false bottom compartment of her suitcase.
In a separate major interdiction operation, NDLEA operatives intercepted one of the largest consignments of imported cannabis this year. The agency tracked a shipment containing 195 large sacks of Canadian Loud, a highly potent strain of cannabis, for over four weeks. The consignment, weighing 4,959 kilogrammes and estimated to have a street value of ₦12,397,500,000 (over N12.4 billion), was recovered during a joint examination at the Apapa Port Complex in Lagos. Investigations revealed that the shipment originated from Toronto, Canada, on April 25, 2026, before passing through Montreal by rail, Morocco's Tanger Med Port, and other international transit points before arriving at Tincan Port, Lagos, on June 4, 2026, and subsequently moving to Apapa Port, where it was intercepted on Monday, June 22, 2026.
The NDLEA also announced the dismantling of a criminal syndicate that plants illicit drugs in the luggage of unsuspecting passengers at motor parks. The operation began after NDLEA officers intercepted a Sienna bus travelling from Nnewi to Abuja at Abaji on Saturday, June 20, 2026, recovering 467.7 grammes of suspected methamphetamine. The syndicate's modus operandi was uncovered, leading to the arrest of several suspects, including the intended recipient, the bus driver, and the actual owner of the illicit consignment.
In another intelligence-led operation, NDLEA operatives arrested 57-year-old Ikechukwu Uwakwe at Iddo Motor Park in Lagos on Saturday, June 27, 2026, with 209.5 kilogrammes of Scottish Loud cannabis allegedly being transported to Enugu State. The agency also intercepted a truck transporting 558,900 pills of Tramadol 250mg from Togo through the Benin Republic into Nigeria, arresting two Beninese nationals and a Nigerian suspect.
Commending the operatives for the string of successful operations, the NDLEA Chairman, Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), lauded their supply reduction efforts and urged them not to relent in the ongoing fight against transnational drug cartels.
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