Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency have arrested a 42-year-old Angolan businessman, Mbala Dajou Abuba, at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano, for attempting to smuggle a large consignment of cocaine to Istanbul, Turkey.
NDLEA’s Spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, on Sunday said Abuba, who hails from Zaire Province in Angola, was intercepted on Tuesday, February 25, 2025, at the airport’s screening point while trying to board Egypt Air flight MS 880 to Istanbul via Cairo.
According to Babafemi, a body scan confirmed the suspect had ingested illicit drugs, prompting officials to place him under observation. He subsequently excreted 120 wraps of cocaine weighing 1.829kg in seven rounds.
The suspect reportedly confessed to being involved in township delivery services in Angola before venturing into the illicit drug trade.
In a separate operation, NDLEA operatives at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos, arrested an auto spare parts dealer, Okeke Ebuka Igwe, while attempting to send two parcels of cocaine weighing 1.10kg hidden inside vehicle propellers to Angola. Acting on intelligence, officers apprehended Igwe on Monday, February 24, 2025.
The suspect later claimed he operates a spare parts business at ASPANDA, Trade Fair Complex, Ojo, Lagos.
Similarly, another suspect, Ezechi Iyke Cyprian, was nabbed while trying to transport 5.40kg of cocaine to Owerri, Imo State, in his Toyota Sienna bus on Sunday, February 23, 2025.
The arrest followed weeks of intelligence gathering and surveillance.
At the Tincan seaport in Lagos, NDLEA operatives uncovered 128 parcels of Canadian Loud, a potent strain of cannabis, weighing 63.75kg, hidden inside two mattresses in the trunk of a Toyota Venza imported from Canada.
The drugs were discovered during a joint examination by NDLEA, Customs, and other security agencies.
The consignee, 44-year-old Bamidele Joseph, was arrested and is now in custody.
In Delta State, a 20-hectare cannabis plantation was raided and destroyed by NDLEA operatives backed by the military on Thursday, February 27, 2025. Over 50,000kg of cannabis was set ablaze in Innam-Abbi/Orogun community, Ndokwa West Local Government Area.
Five suspects were arrested during the raid, including Augustine Subaru, 45, Ukoba Malachukwu, 53, Odalonu Emmanuel, 40, Esuabom Macaulay, 35, and Itoje Safe, 54.
Additionally, 101 bags of skunk weighing 1,111kg were seized from a Mercedes-Benz truck intercepted along the Abraka-Orogun road on Friday, February 28, 2025.
In Edo State, operatives stormed Okpuje community, Owan West LGA, where they seized 1,409.5kg of skunk and destroyed over 100 jumbo bags of cannabis stored in warehouses.
Two suspects, Oikelomen Osere Monday, 38, and Glory Iroyo, 42, were arrested.
In Oyo State, Michael Omoloki, 46, was apprehended with 58.5kg of skunk along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.
In Kwara State, Beninese national Lawali Mohammed was caught with 2,980 tramadol tablets and dozens of diazepam pills on the Eiyenkorin Expressway, Ilorin.
In Osun State, operatives intercepted 1.05kg of skunk concealed in detergent and biscuit cartons along the Ibadan-Gbongan Expressway. One suspect, Sunday Ogbu, 45, was arrested.
In Zamfara State, Ayuba Mustapha, 30, was caught in Tsafe with 24,700 tramadol pills on Sunday, February 23, 2025.
In Borno State, Mustapha Shettima, 50, was arrested with 31kg of skunk, 1,000 tramadol pills, and N720,000 in cash along Bama Road, Maiduguri, while Adamu Idris, 40, was nabbed with 73.5kg of cannabis on Zaria Road, Kano.
Beyond enforcement, NDLEA intensified its War Against Drug Abuse sensitisation campaigns in schools, religious centres, workplaces, and communities nationwide. Recent activities include awareness lectures at Ansarudeen Junior Secondary School, Ojuelegba, Lagos, Loretto Girls Special Science School, Adazi-Nnukwu, Anambra State, and Tudun Murtala Special Primary School, Nasarawa LGA, Kano State.
Commending the agency’s MMIA, MAKIA, SOU, Tincan, Delta, Edo, Oyo, Kano, Osun, Borno, Zamfara, and Kwara Commands, NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), applauded their commitment to curbing drug trafficking and abuse across Nigeria.
