By Nkechi Eze
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has recorded a string of major breakthroughs in its nationwide offensive against drug trafficking, arresting a China-based Nigerian businessman and two Angolan nationals who excreted 236 wraps of cocaine at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, and the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano, while also thwarting attempts by a convicted drug kingpin to export narcotics from prison and dismantling a synthetic drug factory in Lagos.
Director of Media and Advocacy of the Agency, Femi Babafemi, who disclosed the details in an official statement, said the 34-year-old China-based businessman, Ibeanu Vincent Chukwudulue, was arrested on Wednesday, February 4, 2026, while on board a Qatar Airways flight QR1432 travelling from Kano to China via Abuja and Doha.
Babafemi said acting on credible intelligence, NDLEA operatives at the Abuja airport requested that the suspect be deboarded for a body scan, which confirmed he had ingested illicit drugs.
“He was thereafter placed under observation during which he excreted a total of 52 pellets of cocaine that weighed 735.95 grams,” Babafemi said.
In his statement to investigators, the suspect reportedly said he had previously been engaged in business on Lagos Island before relocating to Guangzhou, China, in 2024.
In a related operation at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, two Angolan nationals, Mbandu Martins Makiadi, 50, and Ngoma Wilson Fernando, 52, were intercepted at the screening point of the departure hall while preparing to board Ethiopian Airlines flight ET940 to Istanbul, Turkey, via Addis Ababa.
According to Babafemi, body scans confirmed both men had ingested drugs, leading to their placement under observation.
“While Mbandu excreted a total of 76 wraps weighing 920 grams in seven excretions, Ngoma expelled 108 pellets that weighed 1.33 kilograms in five excretions,” he stated.
During interrogation, the suspects, who hail from Hoji Ya Henda in Luanda, Angola, allegedly confessed that they were recruited by an automobile spare parts dealer based in Luanda who promised to pay them $3,000 each upon successful delivery of the consignments in Turkey.
In Lagos, NDLEA operatives also foiled an attempt by a convicted drug kingpin, Olashupo Michael Oladimeji, to export 1.10 kilograms of cocaine concealed in processed cassava granules, popularly known as garri, to London.
Babafemi explained that Oladimeji, who is currently serving a five-year jail term at the Ikoyi Correctional Centre after his conviction in 2025 for attempting to export 17.90 kilograms of cocaine, orchestrated the latest trafficking scheme from prison using his company, Dimeji Express Logistics.
The illicit consignment was intercepted on Thursday, February 12, at the export shed of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, where a staff member of the company, Adedeji Yusuf Gbolahan, who presented the cargo for export, was promptly arrested.
Investigations revealed that Oladimeji directed the staff member to collect the consignment from Oshodi for shipment abroad.
Similarly, NDLEA officers frustrated another attempt by an estate surveyor, Adelaja Taiwo Adetayo, to export 1.70 kilograms of skunk concealed in five jerry cans to the United Kingdom. A cargo agent, Mustapha Quddus Opeyemi, was initially arrested when he presented the consignment for export, while a follow-up operation led to the arrest of the principal suspect at the Ahmadiyya area of Lagos on Monday, February 9.
In Abuja, operatives intercepted a waybill package from Enugu containing a children’s toy guitar used to conceal two parcels of Canadian Loud, a potent strain of cannabis weighing 59.2 grams. A follow-up operation led to the arrest of the owner of the consignment, Henry Onuma, at Dream City Estate, Life Camp.
The anti-narcotics agency also uncovered a synthetic drug production facility in Lekki, Lagos, following a raid on a four-bedroom duplex located at 2 Alexandria Terrace, Ikate-Elegushi, used for the production and storage of Colorado, a synthetic cannabis.
The operation was triggered by the earlier seizure of 73 cartons of nitrous oxide at Iyare Motor Park along the Ajah-Epe Expressway. The driver conveying the consignment, Amos Innocent, was arrested, while another suspect, Victor Oyedeji, was apprehended at the Lekki residence where 13.2 kilograms of freshly produced Colorado and precursor chemicals were recovered.
In Ibadan, Oyo State, operatives arrested a notorious female drug dealer, Oluwayemisi Bunmi, 45, at her residence in the Hope Alakia area, recovering 1.189 kilograms of Colorado and skunk, 320 grams of methamphetamine, ₦2,975,000 in cash, and two Toyota Matrix vehicles.
In Kwara State, NDLEA operatives intercepted a J5 vehicle driven by Kamilu Abdullahi, 43, at Bode Saadu, recovering no fewer than 105,400 pills of tramadol.
In Edo State, five suspects Murtala Mohammed, Abdulkadir Idris Mohammed, Ufoma Edafe, Anthony Aghati, and Emmanuel Owalu Ekele were arrested when operatives raided the Yoruba Camp in Olumoye Forest, Ovia North-East Local Government Area, where 563.5 kilograms of skunk were recovered.
Beyond enforcement operations, the Agency also intensified its War Against Drug Abuse sensitization campaign across the country, conducting enlightenment programmes in schools including Anglican Grammar School, Ogbomoso; Government Day Secondary School, Yola; Government Secondary School, Tudun Gwandara, Lafia; Government Girls Technical and Commercial College, Charanchi; and Ajumoni Senior Secondary School, Mushin, Lagos.
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Mohamed Buba Marwa, commended officers and personnel of the MAKIA, MMIA, NAIA, Lagos, Edo, Kwara, FCT, and Oyo Commands for their professionalism and operational successes.
He charged them and their counterparts nationwide to sustain the Agency’s balanced approach to reducing both drug supply and demand, reaffirming the NDLEA’s resolve to rid the country of illicit narcotics and safeguard public health and national security.
