By Nkechi Eze
Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency have uncovered shocking tactics employed by drug traffickers, including a woman who faked pregnancy to smuggle thousands of opioid capsules and an Ivorian national who excreted 82 wraps of cocaine, as the agency intensified nationwide operations that also led to the arrest of a prominent real estate chief executive and a 68-year-old grandmother.
The agency’s Director, Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, disclosed in an official statement that the suspects were intercepted in coordinated operations spanning Kano, Lagos, Edo, Bauchi, Ondo, Delta, Kogi and Rivers states, as well as the Seme land border.
In one of the most bizarre cases, NDLEA officers at the Seme border departure point on Monday, 16 February 2026, intercepted a 35-year-old Kano-based businesswoman, Rabi Muhammad, who appeared heavily pregnant while attempting to cross into Cotonou, Benin Republic. However, a thorough body search exposed her pregnancy as fake. Her protruding belly was found to be a pink-coloured calabash strapped to her stomach and used to conceal 3,200 capsules of tramadol, which she intended to sell in Cotonou.
On the same day in Kano, NDLEA operatives at the screening point of the departure hall of Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport intercepted a 41-year-old Ivorian national, Michael Gohouri, also known as Anunwa Onyinye Michael, during outward clearance for Ethiopian Airlines flight ET940 to Milan via Addis Ababa. A body scan confirmed he had ingested illicit substances.
He was subsequently placed under observation, during which he excreted 82 wraps of cocaine weighing 1.49 kilograms. Investigations revealed that Gohouri had arrived in Lagos from Milan on 17 January 2026 and spent three weeks shuttling between Lagos and Enugu before travelling to Kano, where he ingested the drugs in a hotel room. He reportedly agreed to traffic the cocaine for a fee of 5,000 euros upon delivery in Milan.
The suspect, who resides at Rue Duce Avenue 13, Abidjan, claimed his father is Ivorian while his mother hails from Anunwa compound, Urunnebo village in Enugu State. He had earlier applied for asylum in Italy in 2013 and obtained a resident permit valid until May 2026, while also holding a Nigerian National Identification Number under the name Anunwa Onyinye Michael.
In a major breakthrough, NDLEA operatives also arrested the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Trans Fortress Global Resources, Kolapo Oladapo Raji, a 57-year-old real estate developer, who had been on the agency’s watchlist since 2025. He was apprehended on Thursday, 12 February 2026, at his Safe Court Apartment residence in Ikate, Lekki, Lagos, shortly after returning from the United Kingdom.
A search of his residence led to the recovery of four large bags containing 89.20 kilograms of Canadian Loud, a potent strain of cannabis, as well as a 2024 Toyota Hilux vehicle. In his statement, Raji admitted venturing into drug trafficking after financing consignments for an overseas associate and earning hundreds of millions of naira in profits, which motivated him to establish his own distribution network.
Further operations in Lagos led to the arrest of Ugwuja Kingsley with 56 kilograms of skunk at Agbara on 19 February, while Ekwe Arinze was nabbed with 76 kilograms of the same substance at a motor park in Oshodi on 17 February.
At the Port Harcourt Ports Complex in Onne, Rivers State, NDLEA officers, working jointly with Customs and other security agencies, intercepted 170,900 bottles of codeine-based syrup concealed in a container. The discovery followed intelligence that prompted NDLEA to request a full physical examination of the shipment.
On the Okene-Lokoja highway in Kogi State, NDLEA patrol officers intercepted a commuter bus travelling from Lagos to Kano and recovered 7,300 pills of tramadol concealed in two sound systems. A follow-up operation in Zuba, Abuja, led to the arrest of two suspects linked to the consignment, Ezenma Kingsley, 26, and Ezeja Anthony, 29.
In Ondo State, NDLEA operatives raided the Iju forest on 19 February and arrested Bright Timothy, 28, with 195 kilograms of skunk and cannabis seeds, while another suspect, Godwin Bernard, was arrested with 198 kilograms of the substance during related operations.
Similarly, in Bauchi State, a total of 936 kilograms of skunk was recovered from a suspect, Yahaya Adamu Gimba, 48, during his arrest at Azare town, Katagun Local Government Area. Additional seizures of 85.8 kilograms were made from Gimba and three other suspects: Nasiru Suleman, 36; Abdul Umar, 25; and Musa Suleman, 21.
In Delta State, NDLEA officers seized 37 kilograms of skunk from a suspect, Mgbeme Ejeoma, 34, at Club Street, Ekeredjebor, Ughelli, while in Edo State, operatives raided Etiosa camp in Owan West Local Government Area and destroyed 1,266.8475 kilograms of cannabis on three farms. They also recovered 23 kilograms of processed cannabis and arrested two suspects, including a 68-year-old grandmother, Evelyn Ogenewu, and Friday Iruoje, 43.
Beyond enforcement operations, NDLEA formations across the country intensified their War Against Drug Abuse sensitisation campaign, delivering lectures to students and staff of several schools, including Muslim Community High School, Ayetoro-Oke in Oyo State; Government Girls Secondary School, Gadaka in Yobe State; Owerri City Secondary School in Imo State; Government Day Secondary School, Tongo in Gombe State; St. Catherine’s College, Igoli in Cross River State; Government Senior Girls Secondary School, Kofar Kudu in Kano State; and Model Government College, Ikorodu in Lagos State.
Commending the officers involved in the operations, NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Mohamed Buba Marwa, praised their commitment and professionalism.
He said the operational successes recorded across the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, Seme, Lagos, Edo, Bauchi, Port Harcourt, Ondo, Delta and Kogi commands, as well as other formations nationwide, demonstrated the agency’s effective balance between drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction efforts, noting that their dedication to the anti-drug war remains highly appreciated.
