Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a 67-year-old Nigerian-British grandmother at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) in Lagos after uncovering 13 kilograms of cocaine ingeniously concealed inside fake plantain peels packed among food items in her luggage. The suspect, identified as Mrs Mary Yetunde Barek, was intercepted on Sunday, 28 June 2026, at the departure hall of Terminal 2 while preparing to board a Virgin Atlantic flight to London, where she works as a caregiver. According to a statement issued on Sunday, 5 July 2026, by the NDLEA Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, a thorough search of the suspect's bags led to the discovery of 31 large wraps of cocaine, which had been specially packaged to resemble hands of plantain and hidden among other food items in an elaborate concealment strategy designed to evade airport security checks. The total weight of the recovered illicit substance was confirmed as 13 kilograms, and Babafemi disclosed that the elderly woman admitted full ownership of the cocaine during interrogation.
The arrest of Barek forms part of a broader nationwide crackdown by the NDLEA on drug trafficking syndicates, which also led to the apprehension of a Malaysia-based Nigerian PhD student and multiple other suspects across the country in recent days. In a separate but concurrent operation, NDLEA operatives arrested Nwabueze Felix Onyeka, a 45-year-old PhD student at the University of Putra, Malaysia, in connection with an attempted export of 5.8 kilograms of cocaine concealed inside the walls of nine cartons of Orijin Bitters destined for Kuala Lumpur. The investigation began after operatives intercepted 36 parcels of cocaine weighing 5.80 kilograms hidden within the cartons, which formed part of a consolidated cargo bound for Malaysia. The initial probe led to the arrest of four suspects in Lagos, including cargo agent Alalade Taiwo Azeez; driver Ndem Ogbonna Kelechi; trader Okeke Tochukwu Chimezie of ASPANDA Market at the Trade Fair Complex; and Igwilo Chidi Henry, who allegedly supplied the modified cartons used to conceal the drugs. Sustained intelligence gathering and surveillance eventually traced Onyeka to his hometown of Aziora in Ozubulu, Ekwusigo Local Government Area of Anambra State, where he was arrested on Monday, 29 June 2026, and identified as the alleged leader of the trafficking syndicate.
Beyond these high-profile international drug busts, the NDLEA recorded several major seizures and arrests across Nigeria during the same period, underscoring the agency's intensified enforcement operations. In Taraba State, operatives acting on credible intelligence arrested 30-year-old Daniel Harrison Ugwuoke on Saturday, 4 July 2026, along the Zaki-Biam-Wukari Road. Officers recovered 43,980 capsules of Tramadol concealed inside two specially fabricated vehicle fuel tanks as the suspect travelled from Onitsha, Anambra State. In Kaduna State, NDLEA officers arrested Boniface Agu, 65, and Monday Nwaeze, 50, during a raid in Gwantu Local Government Area on Thursday, 2 July 2026, recovering 1.7 kilograms of methamphetamine. Similarly, in Ebonyi State, a 65-year-old suspect, Francis Ifara Eja, was arrested with 231.7 kilograms of skunk at Ikwo on Saturday, 4 July 2026, while a 75-year-old suspect, Alhaji Babani, was apprehended with 15 kilograms of skunk in Qua'an Pan Local Government Area of Plateau State on Friday, 3 July 2026. In Gombe State, operatives arrested Dahiru Mohammed, 65, and Isiya Lawan, 36, at Kuri village in Yamaltu-Deba Local Government Area on Wednesday, 1 July 2026, where they recovered 587 blocks of cannabis sativa weighing 556 kilograms.
The NDLEA also confirmed that its commands across the country sustained the War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) campaign with sensitisation programmes in schools, workplaces, worship centres and communities in Anambra, Enugu, Ogun and Kano states, among others. NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), commended officers of the MMIA, Taraba, Kaduna, Ebonyi, Plateau and Gombe commands for the arrests and seizures, praising their success in combining aggressive drug supply reduction efforts with public enlightenment campaigns. Marwa urged personnel nationwide to sustain the momentum and continue to raise the operational bar in the fight against illicit drug trafficking, emphasising that the agency's dual strategy of enforcement and awareness remains critical to curbing the menace of substance abuse in Nigeria. The arrests of Barek and Onyeka, along with the multiple seizures across the country, highlight the increasingly sophisticated methods employed by drug traffickers and the NDLEA's determined efforts to dismantle trafficking networks operating at both domestic and international levels.
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