By Ayo Kehinde
Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested two brothers, John Abugu, 43, and Kenneth Abugu, 31, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos, for attempting to smuggle 5kg of cocaine to India. The banned substance was discovered concealed within the walls of their suitcases.
The suspects were intercepted on Thursday, April 3, 2025, by a Special Operations Unit following actionable intelligence. According to a statement issued on Sunday by the agency’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, the brothers claimed they were travelling for medical treatment in India.
However, a thorough search of their luggage revealed whitish powdery substances which later tested positive for cocaine.
In a related development, NDLEA operatives attached to the MMIA Strategic Command intercepted a Ghanaian-British national, Parker Darren Hazekia Osei, with 36 parcels of Loud, a potent cannabis strain, weighing 19.40kg.
The 20-year-old, who claims to be a Computer Science student at East London University, was arrested during inbound passenger clearance of an Ethiopian Airlines flight from Bangkok, Thailand.
The suspect alleged he left London for Bangkok a week earlier and was en route to deliver the drug consignment in Nigeria. NDLEA said he was apprehended at the E-arrival hall of the Lagos airport.
In Kogi State, a 33-year-old woman, Ngozi Ogili, was arrested on March 31 while travelling with 3kg of methamphetamine in a commercial bus along the Okene-Lokoja highway. A follow-up raid at her delivery destination in the Apo Mechanic area of Abuja led to the recovery of synthetic cannabis variants—Loud and Colorado.
In Abia State, a 75-year-old man, Nna Nnanna Felix, was arrested on April 5 with 1.6kg of skunk during a raid at Umunteke Asa, Ukwa West LGA. Another suspect, 21-year-old David Chinemerem, was caught with 2,050 ampoules of pentazocine on April 1 at Umuode Road, Aba.
In Yobe State, NDLEA operatives intercepted a suspect, Abdullahi Adamu, along the Potiskum-Damaturu road with 381 bottles of codeine syrup and 108 tablets of tramadol on April 5.
Further raids in Anambra State—at the Osogbo motor park in Onitsha and a residential building in Oba, Idemili LGA—resulted in the arrest of one Obinna Sunday and the seizure of 195,000 tramadol pills. Ugochukwu Ojalanonye was also arrested at the park with 4.2kg of codeine syrup and 5.4kg of pentazocine.
In the Federal Capital Territory, a raid at Wuse Market on April 3 led to the arrest of 51-year-old Sunday Ayogu with 25kg of skunk and 90.4g of methamphetamine.
In Cross River State, NDLEA officers, backed by Nigerian Army personnel, stormed cannabis plantations in the Esuk-Odot community, Odukpani LGA, where 250,000kg of cannabis cultivated on over 100 hectares were destroyed. Two women—Faith Effiong Etim, 64, and Victoria Asuquo Etim, 40—were apprehended during the operation.
The agency also intensified its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) campaign during the week, holding sensitisation programmes in schools, religious centres, and communities. These included engagements with students of Cave City Secondary School in Ogidi, Anambra State; residents of Dan’iyau village in Batagarawa LGA, Katsina State; and members of the Nigerian Association of Patent and Proprietary Medicine Dealers in Yola, Adamawa State.
NDLEA Chairman/Chief Executive, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), commended officers across the Lagos, Yobe, Abia, Kogi, Anambra, Cross River, and FCT commands for their vigilance and dedication to the fight against drug trafficking and abuse.
