NDLEA smashes Brazil drug syndicate, nabs returnees, businesswoman

My Omodele Adigun

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has dismantled a major drug trafficking network, arresting two Brazil returnees, a businesswoman, and several others, while intercepting large consignments of heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine, cannabis, and tramadol across multiple states.

NDLEA spokesman, Mr. Femi Babafemi, confirmed that Ofoma Sunday (46) and Ukachukwu Frank Ikechukwu were placed under observation at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, where they excreted a combined 116 wraps of narcotics. Ofoma, who arrived from Brazil via Addis Ababa on 16 September, later passed 111 wraps of heroin weighing 1.45kg. A follow-up operation at a hotel in Amuwo Odofin led to the arrest of Mr. Nweke Jude Chukwudi, who was designated to receive the consignment. Ukachukwu, also on a Brazil–Ethiopia flight, was arrested on 19 September after excreting five wraps of cocaine weighing 145 grams.

In a related operation, NDLEA officers arrested businesswoman Mrs. Okolonkwo Ebere Theresa on 14 September after Aviation Security personnel discovered 1.40kg of methamphetamine concealed in her butt pad underwear as she attempted to board a Qatar Airways flight to Doha. At the NAHCO export shed, operatives intercepted 40 wraps of methamphetamine weighing 2.3kg hidden in food items bound for Hong Kong, leading to the arrest of 59-year-old Mr. Umelo Ifeanyi Venatus. Separately, 257 grams of cocaine were recovered from seven phone chargers at a courier company in Lagos, destined for New Zealand.

The clampdown extended nationwide. In Adamawa, raids yielded 233,800 tramadol pills with arrests in Yola South, Jimeta, and Namtari checkpoint. In Zamfara, 109 bags of cannabis skunk weighing over 1,099kg were seized from a truck along the Gummi–Daki Takwas road. In Edo, officers destroyed cannabis farms spanning four hectares in Owan West, estimated at 11,000kg, while recovering 148kg of processed cannabis and arresting three suspects. In Taraba, 25.5kg of cannabis was recovered at Bali LGA, while in Yobe, two suspects were caught with 14,000 capsules of tramadol along the Damaturu–Potiskum road.

The agency further intensified its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation campaigns across Sokoto, Katsina, Jigawa, Benue, and Kano states. NDLEA Chairman, Brig.-Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd), commended the operations, saying: “These arrests and seizures represent a significant milestone in our determined effort to dismantle drug trafficking organizations operating within and outside Nigeria. We remain focused on protecting our communities, especially the youth, from the harmful effects of illicit substances.”