The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a Brazil-based Nigerian businessman, Uche Onyekwere, for attempting to smuggle cocaine into the country through the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, as the agency recorded multiple high-profile drug seizures across the country totalling nearly 10 tonnes.
Onyekwere, 47, was apprehended last Thursday at the airport’s arrival hall during the screening of passengers on a South African Airways flight from Brazil via Johannesburg. NDLEA operatives, acting on intelligence, subjected him to additional checks after he arrived in Lagos.
A body scan indicated the presence of concealed substances, prompting a strip search that uncovered a large wrap of a white powdery substance strapped to his right thigh. Further examination revealed two additional wraps hidden inside the soles of the flat shoes he was wearing. The substances were later confirmed to be cocaine, weighing a total of 1.6 kilogrammes.
During interrogation, the suspect reportedly admitted purchasing the drugs in Brazil with the intention of selling them in Nigeria. He claimed the proceeds were meant to expand his business and support the naming ceremony of his newborn child. Onyekwere, who resides in São Paulo, said he has lived in Brazil since 2008, where he operates a toy business.
Meanwhile, NDLEA operatives at the Tincan Seaport, Lagos, intercepted a container shipment last Wednesday, uncovering 55 jumbo bags of Canadian Loud, a potent strain of cannabis, weighing 1,183 kilogrammes. The drugs, imported from Montreal, Canada, were concealed inside a Hyundai SUV and a Toyota Matrix vehicle. The seizure followed a joint inspection involving the NDLEA, the Nigeria Customs Service and other security agencies.
In Niger State, NDLEA officers intercepted a long-haul truck along the Dei-Dei–Abuja Expressway in the early hours of Tuesday, arresting three suspects—Andy Chidogu (49), Kenneth Ogene (45) and Sadiq Olanrewaju (27)—with 176 bags of skunk cannabis weighing 2,735 kilogrammes, alongside one kilogramme of Colorado, a synthetic cannabis variant. Investigations revealed that the truck driver, Ogene, had earlier transported flour from Lagos to Ekpoma, Edo State, before agreeing to convey the illicit drugs for a fee of ₦1.7 million.
Further operations in Edo State led to the arrest of Shaibu Yusuf along the Auchi–Abuja Expressway with 66 bags of skunk weighing 792 kilogrammes concealed in charcoal bags. In a related operation, NDLEA operatives, with support from the Nigerian Army, raided a cannabis farm at Ebora Camp in Ilushi, Esan South East Local Government Area, destroying over 4,063 kilogrammes of skunk cultivated on 1.6 hectares of land. An additional 328 kilogrammes of processed cannabis and seeds were recovered, while four suspects were arrested.
In Anambra State, NDLEA officers intercepted a cement-laden truck at Upper Iweka, Onitsha, where a search uncovered 345.2 kilogrammes of skunk hidden among bags of cement. One suspect, Abum Okeke, 42, was arrested.
The agency also recorded seizures in Ondo State, where two suspects were arrested in Akure North with 473 kilogrammes of skunk. In Kano State, operatives recovered 12,500 ampoules of pentazocine injection from Abdullahi Usman, while another suspect, Musa Shuaibu, was arrested with 4,390 tramadol pills in Gaya area of the state.
In Lagos, NDLEA operatives arrested Oragwan Ekene at Alaba with 15.5 kilogrammes of skunk allegedly en route to Anambra State. Additionally, 3.5 kilogrammes of cannabis were recovered from the luggage of a traveller arriving from Cotonou, Benin Republic, at the Seme border.
Speaking on the operations, NDLEA spokesman, Femi Babafemi, said the agency also sustained its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation campaign across schools, religious institutions, workplaces and communities nationwide.
Commending the officers involved, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (Rtd), urged personnel to sustain the balanced approach of drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction in the ongoing fight against drug abuse and trafficking.
