NDLEA intercepts Nigerian businessman with cocaine-soaked clothing in Lagos
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has arrested a Brazil-based businessman for attempting to smuggle 6.10 kilograms of liquid cocaine into Nigeria concealed in shirts and towels, as the agency recorded multiple other drug seizures and arrests across several states in coordinated nationwide operations.
The suspect, Abugu Oliver Ikechukwu, 41, was arrested on Thursday, June 11, 2026, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos, upon arrival from São Paulo, Brazil, via Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, aboard an Ethiopian Airlines flight. NDLEA operatives, acting on intelligence, conducted a thorough search of his luggage and recovered 14 shirts and towels that had been soaked in liquid cocaine, dried, and neatly ironed.
In a statement to investigators, Abugu said he had lived in Brazil for more than 14 years where he operates an African restaurant. He claimed he traveled to Nigeria to visit his wife and purchase foodstuffs in bulk for his business, a claim NDLEA said remains under investigation as part of efforts to dismantle the drug trafficking network behind the shipment.
Elsewhere, the agency also detained two persons living with disabilities in separate drug-related incidents in Abia and Rivers states. In Abia, a 60-year-old woman, Chidimma Sunday, was apprehended by the Umuosu Vigilante Group in Umuna Autonomous Community, Isialangwa North Local Government Area, with 1.8 kilograms of skunk before being handed over to NDLEA on Wednesday, June 10.
In Rivers State, NDLEA operatives arrested a 28-year-old man, Abubakar Usman, at Rumuokoro, Port Harcourt, during a raid on Tuesday, June 9. Items recovered from him included 400 grams of skunk, five grams of methamphetamine, 100 grams of tramadol, five grams of swinol, and 18 grams of diazepam, according to the agency.
Further seizures were recorded in Delta and Gombe states. In Delta, operatives on Monday, June 8, arrested Onya Jude, 36, at Ogwashi-Uku in Aniocha South area with 2.8 kilograms of Loud concealed in five gas cylinders. In Gombe, two suspected dealers, Jamilu Idris, 40, also known as Jama, and Aminu Abdullahi, 33, also known as Momo, were arrested at Kasuwan Katako with three large blocks of skunk weighing 2.738 kilograms.
In Kano and Kwara states, NDLEA officers intercepted additional consignments of illicit drugs. Along the Zaria–Kano Road in Kano, Ngozi Gaius, 39, was arrested on Friday, June 12, while conveying 6,000 pills of tramadol 225mg. In Kwara, two suspects, Nasiru Hamza, 47, and Muhammad Sani, 38, were intercepted on Tuesday, June 9, along Bode Saadu Road with 600 compressed blocks of skunk weighing 304 kilograms in a black Toyota jeep.
Massive seizures were also recorded in Taraba, Lagos, and the Federal Capital Territory. In Taraba, NDLEA operatives raided a warehouse in Maihula village, Bali Local Government Area, on Saturday, June 13, and recovered 63 jumbo bags of cannabis sativa weighing 1,121.5 kilograms. The same day, a 1,102-kilogram consignment of Ghana Loud was recovered around Alaba International Market in Ojo, Lagos, while in Abuja, officers arrested Emmanuel Nnadi, 46, along the Gwagwalada Expressway with large quantities of tramadol, pregabalin, molly, and codeine-based syrup.
Commending the officers involved in the operations, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA, Mohamed Buba Marwa, praised the balance between drug supply reduction efforts and the agency’s War Against Drug Abuse sensitization campaigns conducted nationwide. He urged commands across the country to sustain the momentum and continue surpassing previous operational records.
