By Nkechi Eze
In a major anti-narcotics operation that highlights the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency’s (NDLEA) relentless war against drug trafficking, operatives have arrested a 52-year-old businessman, Ejiofor Godwin Emeka, who excreted a total of 127 wraps of cocaine at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport (MAKIA), Kano. The suspect, who runs boutiques in Lagos and Onitsha, was intercepted upon arrival from Bangkok, Thailand, via Ethiopian Airlines flight ET 941 on Wednesday, 8th October 2025.
According to an official statement issued by the NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, Ejiofor was taken into custody following credible intelligence, after which a body scan confirmed that he had ingested illicit drugs and concealed more in his private part. “A total of 58 wraps of cocaine were immediately recovered from his pant, after which he was placed under observation, leading to the excretion of 69 additional wraps in seven rounds,” Babafemi disclosed. The total 127 wraps weighed 1.388 kilograms.
The operation at MAKIA was only one of several successful interdictions by NDLEA operatives within the week, as multiple export syndicates attempting to smuggle narcotics out of Nigeria were also foiled in Lagos, Abuja, and other parts of the country.
At a courier company in Lagos, NDLEA operatives intercepted three consignments of illicit drugs bound for the United Kingdom between Thursday, 9th and Friday, 10th October. Among them was 1.74 kilograms of methamphetamine concealed inside glass ceramic blocks. Two other shipments were discovered to contain 114 grams and 168 grams of pentazocine and tramadol injections respectively, while another parcel contained 48 grams of tramadol capsules cleverly hidden in Vitamin C containers.
Similarly, separate attempts by drug cartels to ship 2.6 kilograms of skunk and 422 grams of tapentadol tablets concealed in black soap heading to Turkey; 169 grams of cocaine hidden in ladies’ handbags destined for Australia; and 568 grams of Loud (a potent strain of cannabis) concealed in herbal containers bound for the United Arab Emirates were all intercepted by NDLEA operatives in Lagos.
In another major bust at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos, NDLEA officers seized 27,510 pills of rohypnol disguised as sachets of alcoholic drinks heading to South Africa. Following the initial arrest of a freight agent and a cab driver linked to the shipment, a follow-up operation at Oyingbo Market led to the arrest of the mastermind, 46-year-old Samuel Omoruyi (alias Yellow), on 2nd October.
Also on the same day, an Italy-based businessman, Enehizena Augustine Uyimwen, was apprehended while attempting to export 3,700 pills of tramadol 225mg and 2,600 tablets of tapentadol 200mg concealed in food items to Europe. He confessed that he was trafficking the opioids for someone else in exchange for a fee of €945 (Nine Hundred and Forty-Five Euros).
In Edo State, NDLEA operatives raided the residence of Emmanuel Sunday, 33, at Ugbekpe Ekperi in Etsako Central LGA, recovering 47 kilograms of skunk. Likewise, in Osun State, operatives arrested Nureni Ayobami Eleweodo, 48, and Oladejo Taiwo, 52, after 635 kilograms of skunk were seized from their Toyota Hiace bus in Omifufun village, Ife South LGA. Two additional suspects, Timothy Omiwole, 41, and Isaac Achiatan, 36, were nabbed in the same area with 100 kilograms of skunk and a motorcycle.
Further arrests were recorded in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, where Okoro Julius, 20, and Onyebuchi Nwibo, 25, were apprehended over the seizure of 8.5 kilograms of skunk, while Sulaiman Kalalu, 46, was caught with 29.5 kilograms of the same substance at Bayan Asiti, Jibia Town, Katsina State, on Saturday, 11th October.
In Niger State, NDLEA officers arrested Yisa Daniel, 29, at New Bussa with 22,000 capsules of tramadol, 800 ampoules of pentazocine injection, and 150,000 pills of exol-5. Similarly, 312 kilograms of skunk were discovered in a bush at Ologede Camp, Ogbese, Ondo State, while two suspects, Francis John, 39, and Adeyemi Taiwo, 46, were intercepted along the Benin-Lagos expressway with 141.8 kilograms of skunk.
In Kaduna State, Rufai Ahmed, 27 (alias Farin Malam), was arrested at the Abuja-Kaduna Toll Gate while transporting 150,000 pills of exol-5 from Lagos to Katsina.
Meanwhile, NDLEA formations across the country continued their War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitization campaign in schools, worship centers, and communities. Awareness lectures were held at General Murtala Mohammed College, Yola; Assembly of God Secondary School, Abakaliki; Community Girls Secondary School, Bakori; Girls Secondary School, Nenwe, Enugu; Day Secondary School, Tungan Mallam, Niger State; Sacred Heart Secondary School, Kabba; Ebenezer Model Secondary School, Onitsha; Government Secondary School, Borikiri, Rivers; Government Junior Secondary School, Wakili Bawa, Kano; and Baptist High School, Ede, Osun State, among others.
While commending the officers and men of MMIA, MAKIA, DOGI, Kano, Edo, Rivers, Kaduna, Katsina, Niger, Ondo, and Osun Commands for their diligence and professionalism, NDLEA Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), urged them to sustain their momentum.
He praised their tenacity, balanced approach, and consistent efforts in upholding the Agency’s mandate to safeguard Nigeria from the menace of drug trafficking and abuse, emphasizing that the NDLEA will remain unyielding in dismantling drug networks and protecting communities across the country.
