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The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, said its operatives have arrested a 41-year-old businessman based in São Paulo, Brazil, Abugu Oliver Ikechukwu, for allegedly importing 6.10 kilograms of liquid cocaine concealed in shirts and towels into Nigeria.
According to a statement issued on Sunday by NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, the suspect was arrested at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos, upon his arrival from Brazil via Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, aboard an Ethiopian Airlines flight on June 11, 2026.
Babafemi said a thorough search of the suspect’s luggage led to the discovery of 14 towels and shirts impregnated with liquid cocaine, which had been dried and carefully ironed to avoid detection.
The suspect reportedly told investigators that he had lived in Brazil for more than 14 years, where he operates an African restaurant. He said he travelled to Nigeria to visit his wife and purchase food items for his business.
In a related development, NDLEA operatives arrested a 60-year-old woman, Chidimma Sunday, and a 28-year-old man, Abubakar Usman, both persons living with disabilities, over alleged involvement in illicit drug trafficking.
Chidimma was apprehended by members of the Umuosu Vigilante Group in Umuna Autonomous Community, Isialangwa North Local Government Area of Abia State, with 1.8 kilograms of skunk and was subsequently handed over to NDLEA on June 10.
Usman was arrested during a raid at Rumuokoro in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, on June 9. NDLEA operatives recovered 400 grams of skunk, five grams of methamphetamine, 100 grams of tramadol, five grams of swinol and 18 grams of diazepam from him.
In Delta State, operatives arrested a suspect identified as Onya Jude, 36, at Ogwashi-Uku in Aniocha South Local Government Area on June 8. He was found in possession of five gas cylinders used to conceal 2.8 kilograms of Loud, a potent strain of cannabis.
The agency also arrested two suspected drug dealers, Jamilu Idris, 40, also known as Jama, and Aminu Abdullahi, 33, also known as Momo, at Kasuwan Katako in Gombe State. The duo were allegedly caught with 2.738 kilograms of skunk.
In Kano State, Ngozi Gaius, 39, was arrested along the Zaria-Kano Road on June 12 while transporting 6,000 pills of tramadol 225mg.
Similarly, NDLEA operatives intercepted Nasiru Hamza, 47, and Muhammad Sani, 38, along Bode Saadu Road in Kwara State on June 9. The suspects were conveying 600 compressed blocks of skunk weighing 304 kilograms in a black Toyota jeep with registration number PJHR 783.
In Taraba State, operatives acting on intelligence raided the warehouse of a suspected drug dealer, Ali Adamu, 45, in Maihula village, Bali Local Government Area, on June 13. During the operation, officers recovered 63 jumbo bags of cannabis sativa weighing 1,121.5 kilograms.
On the same day, NDLEA operatives on patrol along the Gwagwalada Expressway in the Federal Capital Territory arrested Emmanuel Nnadi, 46, and seized 30,400 pills of tramadol in various strengths, 750 pills of pregabalin 300mg, 200 pills of molly and 592 bottles of codeine-based syrup.
Also in Lagos State, operatives recovered a consignment of Ghana Loud weighing 1,102 kilograms around Alaba International Market in the Ojo area on June 13.
The agency said its commands across the country also intensified anti-drug abuse sensitisation campaigns under its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) initiative, targeting schools, communities, workplaces and traditional institutions.
NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig.-Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), commended officers of the MMIA, Abia, Rivers, Kano, Kwara, Delta, Gombe, Lagos and FCT commands for the arrests and seizures, urging them to sustain their efforts in combating drug trafficking and abuse across the country.
