The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, on Sunday, said its operatives had arrested two brothers, John Abugu, 43, and Kenneth Abugu, 31, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, MMIA, Ikeja, Lagos, with 5 kilograms of cocaine concealed in the walls of their suitcases while attempting to board a flight to India.
NDLEA announced that the two brothers were arrested at the Lagos airport on Thursday, 3rd April 2025, following proactive processing of credible intelligence.
This was made known by Femi Babafemi, Director of Media & Advocacy, NDLEA Headquarters, Abuja.
Babafemi disclosed that the suspects claimed they were traveling to India for medical treatment, but when their suitcases were thoroughly searched by NDLEA officers, whitish powdery substances, later confirmed to be cocaine, were discovered in the walls of their bags.
In a similar development, Babafemi announced that NDLEA officers of the MMIA Strategic Command, on the same day, Thursday, 3rd April, intercepted a 20-year-old Ghanaian-British man, Parker Darren Hazekia Osei, with 36 parcels of Loud, a strong strain of cannabis weighing 19.40 kg, packed in a giant traveling bag.
According to the statement, the suspect, who claims to be a student of Computer Science at East London University, UK, was arrested during the inward clearance of passengers on an Ethiopian Airlines flight from Bangkok, Thailand, at the E-arrival hall of the Lagos airport.
In his statement, the techie claims he lives with his parents in the UK but left London about a week ago for Bangkok, where he picked up the illicit drug consignment to deliver in Nigeria.
Meanwhile, NDLEA operatives in Kogi State have arrested a 33-year-old lady, Ngozi Ogili, while moving 3 kilograms of methamphetamine from Lagos to Abuja. She was nabbed in a commercial transport bus along the Okene-Lokoja highway on Monday, 31st March 2025.
A follow-up operation at her point of delivery in the Apo mechanic area of Abuja led to the seizure of quantities of Loud and Colorado, both synthetic strains of cannabis.
In Abia State, NDLEA officers on Saturday, 5th April, arrested a 75-year-old grandpa, Nna Nnanna Felix, with 1.6 kg of skunk, a strain of cannabis, during a raid at Umunteke Asa, Ukwa West LGA. Another suspect, David Chinemerem, 21, was nabbed with 2,050 ampoules of pentazocine at 7 Nnajiego Lane, Umuode Road, Aba, on Tuesday, 1st April.
No fewer than 381 bottles of codeine syrup and 108 tablets of tramadol were seized from a suspect, Abdullahi Adamu, along the Potiskum-Damaturu road, Yobe State, by NDLEA operatives on Saturday, 5th April. Raid operations at Osogbo motor park, Onitsha, and a house at Oba in Idemili Local Government Area of Anambra State led to the arrest of Obinna Sunday and the seizure of 195,000 pills of tramadol.
Also arrested during the raid at the motor park was Ugochukwu Ojalanonye, with 4.2 kg of codeine syrup and 5.4 kg of pentazocine.
In the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), NDLEA operatives on Thursday, 3rd April, arrested 51-year-old Sunday Ayogu with 25 kg of skunk and 90.4 g of methamphetamine during a raid operation at Wuse Market, Abuja, while two ladies, Faith Effiong Etim, 64, and Victoria Asuquo Etim, 40, were nabbed on Friday, 4th April, when NDLEA operatives, supported by men of the Nigerian Army, raided cannabis plantations in Esuk-Odot community, Odukpani LGA of Cross River State, where 250,000 kilograms of the psychoactive plant were destroyed on over 100 hectares of farmland.
Reacting to the development, the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa, commended the officers and men of MMIA, SOU, Yobe, Abia, Kogi, Anambra, Cross River, and FCT Commands of the Agency for the arrests and seizures.
Marwa 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.
