Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a woman, Ihensekhien Miracle Obehi, who attempted to smuggle cocaine to Iran through the Port Harcourt International Airport, Rivers State. Obehi concealed the drugs in her private part, stomach, and handbag while disguising in a hijab to evade security checks.
A statement issued on Sunday by NDLEA spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, revealed that the suspect was intercepted at the airport’s departure hall on May 3, 2025, while attempting to board a Qatar Airways flight to Iran via Doha, following credible intelligence.
During a search, operatives discovered three wraps of cocaine inserted in her private part, two parcels hidden in the false bottom of her handbag, and 67 pellets swallowed and concealed in her stomach.
“She was placed under observation, and after four days of excretion, she expelled all 67 pellets. She confessed that she intended to swallow 70 pellets but could only manage 67, choosing to hide the remaining three in her private part. The total weight of the cocaine seized from her was 2.523 kilograms,” the statement added.
In a related operation, NDLEA officers at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, on May 9 arrested a 22-year-old British national, Campell Kaizra Kofi Johannes Slifer, with two suitcases containing 35 parcels of Loud — a potent strain of cannabis — weighing 37.6kg. He had arrived from Thailand via Doha on a Qatar Airways flight.
Slifer, who admitted to previous convictions for drug trafficking and robbery in the UK, claimed he was recruited in London to pick up the consignment in Thailand and deliver it to Nigeria.
In Niger State, a major drug bust took place on May 7 as operatives intercepted a fuel tanker marked ABJ 693 XU and three other vehicles along the Suleja-Kaduna road. The vehicles were loaded with 246 bags of skunk, weighing 3,047 kilograms. Four suspects — Christopher Onyema (47), Benedict Etineruba Young (54), Chukwudi Ujue Jerry (30), and Mohammed Abdullahi Danasabe — were arrested. Additional vehicles recovered included a Honda Odyssey bus (YAB 667 CZ), a Gulf bus (GWA 125 TQ), and another Honda Odyssey (ABJ 230 CN).
In Lagos, on May 8, NDLEA officers arrested two suspects, Eze Chekube Emmanuel and Ike Samuel Chinyerem, at Oja Amukoko, Ijora, with 109,914 pills of tramadol, swinol, and nitrazepam.
In Kaduna, operatives on May 6 recovered 52.5kg of skunk from two suspects — Lukman Sabo Umar (23) and Tukur Ammadu (20) — in a bus at Gwantu, Sanga LGA.
Similarly, on May 5, along the Bode Saadu-Jebba Expressway in Kwara State, Rufai Nasiru was arrested with 45,400 pills of 225mg tramadol.
In Bauchi, on May 6, NDLEA officers intercepted a Toyota Tundra jeep marked RBC 111 DW along the Bauchi-Gombe road, loaded with 526 blocks of skunk weighing 505kg. Two suspects — Isaac Onogure (37) and Ikechukwu Peter (44) — were apprehended.
Also, in Kano on May 10, operatives recovered 31 kegs containing 775 litres of codeine syrup during a raid at Rijiyar Zaki. Two suspects, Hafizu Isa Uman (34) and Ismail Shehu (48), were arrested.
Meanwhile, a consignment of 1.1kg of Loud, concealed inside a pillow from Thailand, was intercepted at a courier company in Lagos on May 6.
The agency’s War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitization campaign also continued across various states. Educational lectures were delivered at institutions including Federal Government College, Sokoto; Deeper Life International College, Nteje, Anambra; Martins Sanda Girls Science College, Paikoro, Niger; and Restoration Power International School, Idua Eket, Akwa Ibom. In Oyo State, WADA activities reached the League of Imams and Alfas at Iseyin Central Mosque.
Commending the agency’s operatives across the affected states and airports, NDLEA Chairman/Chief Executive, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), praised their sustained efforts to balance drug supply reduction with drug demand reduct
