Businessmen, Canada-based nurse, arrested at Lagos airport for drug trafficking

…as agency intercepts over N7 billion worth of opioids at Apapa, Onne seaports

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested two Nigerian businessmen, Ihejirika Okechukwu Emmanuel and Iwuagwu Ikedi Victory, alongside Canada-based nurse Usman Grace Khadijat Olami, for attempting to traffic cocaine and synthetic cannabis, also known as “Loud,” through Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos.

Ihejirika, who claims to be involved in fish importation from Thailand, was apprehended on October 15 while attempting to board an Ethiopian Airlines flight to Thailand. A body scan revealed he had ingested cocaine, which led to the recovery of five large egg-sized wraps weighing 400 grams. The 51-year-old confessed that he was promised payment upon successful delivery of the drugs in Thailand, citing financial struggles in his fish business as his motivation.

Two days later, on October 17, NDLEA operatives intercepted 26-year-old Iwuagwu, who had just arrived from Brazil via Addis Ababa on an Ethiopian Airlines flight. Similar to Ihejirika, a body scan confirmed the presence of cocaine in his system. After excreting one pellet weighing 22 grams, Iwuagwu admitted to ingesting 30 wraps of cocaine, 29 of which he had already handed over in Addis Ababa. He disclosed that he was promised N2.5 million for smuggling the drugs.

On October 4, Usman Grace Khadijat Olami, a nurse based in Canada, was arrested during the inward clearance of passengers arriving from Toronto via Paris on an Air France flight. Upon searching her luggage, NDLEA officers found 70 parcels of Loud, weighing a total of 35.70kg. Olami claimed that the cannabis was meant for her boyfriend in Nigeria, who had instructed her to bring the illicit consignment.

Seizures at Seaports

In addition to the airport operations, the NDLEA, in collaboration with the Nigeria Customs Service, intercepted large quantities of illicit drugs at the Apapa and Onne seaports. On October 15, a joint examination of two containers at Apapa seaport led to the discovery of 162,351 bottles of codeine-based syrup. At Port Harcourt Port Complex, Onne, operatives seized 7.2 million pills of Tapentadol and Carisoprodol worth N3.6 billion, alongside 780 cartons of chlorphenamine containing 15.6 million opioid pills. Further inspections at Onne uncovered 337,000 bottles of codeine syrup, valued at N2.36 billion. These seizures brought the total value of illicit drugs intercepted at the two ports to over N7 billion.

Nationwide arrests and seizures

Across other states, the NDLEA continued its anti-drug operations. In Bauchi, a suspect was arrested with 76,600 tramadol pills concealed in a vehicle along Bauchi-Jos road. In Ondo, three suspects were apprehended with 672kg of cannabis sativa. In Edo, a raid on a cannabis farm in Illushi forest led to the destruction of 10,590kg of the substance and the arrest of two suspects. Meanwhile, in Lagos, operatives arrested a methamphetamine trafficker with 3kg of methamphetamine and 1.9kg of cannabis.

The agency also made strides in its “War Against Drug Abuse” (WADA) campaign, raising awareness in schools and communities across the country. Sensitization programs were conducted in Oyo, Kano, Cross River, Ebonyi, and Kwara states.

NDLEA Chairman, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), commended the operatives for their dedication to reducing drug trafficking and abuse in Nigeria, noting that the agency’s balanced approach to both drug supply reduction and demand reduction is vital to national security and public health.