Reported by: Puis Althea | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency have arrested a 55-year-old Lagos businessman, Onuigbo Ndubisi Chinedu, a clothing trader at the popular Balogun Market on Lagos Island, over an alleged attempt to export 3.30 kilograms of cocaine concealed in the walls of cartons used to package foodstuffs destined for the United Kingdom. The agency said Chinedu was arrested on Thursday, July 23, 2026, after NDLEA officers intercepted the cocaine shipment at the export shed of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, a day earlier, according to a statement issued on Sunday by the NDLEA Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi.
According to the NDLEA, investigations initially led to the arrest of three cargo agents—Nkwor Onyekachukwu Justina, Adeleke Abiola Taoheed and Ukanwa Grace Pilgrim—who handled the consignment. The statement said their interrogation subsequently led operatives to Kenneth Okakpu, who allegedly delivered the consignment to the cargo agents for shipment to the UK. "Okakpu's arrest provided the lead to identifying Onuigbo as the kingpin behind the syndicate and his eventual arrest while attempting to send another consignment of cocaine to the UK," Babafemi stated. The arrest of the 55-year-old trader marks a significant breakthrough in the agency's efforts to dismantle drug trafficking networks operating through Nigeria's ports and airports.
In a separate operation, NDLEA operatives arrested 31-year-old entrepreneur Emmanuella Chukwu-Edo at her Surulere residence in Lagos on Tuesday, July 21, after intercepting a 2.80-kilogram consignment of Canadian Loud, a potent synthetic strain of cannabis, which had arrived from the United States aboard a United Airlines flight a day earlier. The agency also recorded one of its largest pharmaceutical seizures when operatives recovered 2.24 million pills of Tapentadol 250mg, valued at over N2.2 billion, from a cargo shipment that arrived from India aboard an Air Maroc flight on Friday, July 24. The seizure followed intelligence gathered and processed by the agency, culminating in a joint examination of the shipment at the Lagos airport.
The opioid interception came shortly after NDLEA officers uncovered another attempt to smuggle tramadol to the United Kingdom. The NDLEA said the prohibited drugs had been carefully concealed inside containers of black soap and were intercepted at a Lagos courier company on Wednesday, July 22. At the Apapa Seaport, anti-narcotics operatives also uncovered a container carrying three vehicles used to conceal 4,777 sachets of Canadian Loud weighing 2,388.5 kilograms, with an estimated street value exceeding N7.1 billion. The illicit consignment was discovered during a joint examination conducted on Monday, July 20. The combined seizures at the airport and seaport brought the estimated value of the major drug consignments intercepted during the operations to more than N10 billion.
Beyond narcotics enforcement, the agency also intercepted military-grade ammunition during separate operations in Katsina and Kaduna states. In Katsina, NDLEA operatives on patrol arrested 30-year-old Mustapha Sani at Baure in Safana Local Government Area after discovering 323 rounds of military ammunition, comprising 200 rounds of 7.62mm and 123 rounds of 7.6mm ammunition, concealed in his possession. Similarly, on the Abuja-Kaduna Expressway near Jere, officers arrested another suspect, 30-year-old Abubakar Amadu, with 73 rounds of 7.62mm RLA ammunition concealed inside kegs filled with red palm oil. The agency said both suspects and the recovered ammunition had been handed over to the appropriate security agency for further investigation.
In Edo State, NDLEA operatives raided a warehouse in Ilushi community, Esan South-East Local Government Area, recovering 1,286 kilograms of cannabis and 86 kilograms of cannabis seeds. Two suspects were also arrested during the operation—Ojore Onweze, 45, found with 60 kilograms of skunk, and George Agwumede, 30, arrested with an additional 13 kilograms of the illicit substance. The series of coordinated operations across multiple states underscores the NDLEA's intensified efforts to disrupt drug trafficking networks, intercept illicit shipments, and stem the flow of narcotics and illegal arms across Nigeria's borders. The agency has reiterated its commitment to sustaining the momentum of its intelligence-led operations and called on members of the public to continue providing credible information to support its efforts to combat drug trafficking and substance abuse across the country.
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