A 25-year-old newlywed businessman, Lovely Chukwulobelu, has been arrested by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport (AIIA), Enugu, after allegedly ingesting 72 wraps of cocaine destined for Portugal.
Chukwulobelu was arrested at the airport’s departure hall last Thursday while attempting to board an Ethiopian Airlines flight to Portugal through Addis Ababa.
He was subsequently placed under excretion observation and eventually expelled all 72 wraps of the drug, according to the NDLEA.
The arrest formed part of a series of drug seizures and arrests recorded by the agency across several states and international entry points in the past week, including the interception of more than 2.55 million opioid pills weighing 1,640.55 kilogrammes at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos.
In a statement on Sunday, NDLEA spokesman Femi Babafemi said Chukwulobelu told investigators that he had previously worked in car decoration at the Trade Fair Complex in Ojo, Lagos, before relocating to Portugal in May 2023.
According to the agency, he recently returned to Nigeria and got married on September 13, but claimed he ventured into drug trafficking in an attempt to offset expenses incurred during his wedding.
At the import shed of the MMIA, Ikeja, NDLEA operatives last Tuesday uncovered one of the agency’s largest opioid seizures of the year during a joint examination of three monitored consignments.
Babafemi said the consignments contained 2,550,000 pills of Tramaking 225mg, Tramaking 250mg and Royal Tapentadol 250mg, with a combined gross weight of 1,640.55 kilogrammes.
The consignments, according to the NDLEA, originated from India and Bangladesh and were transported through Qatar Airways, RwandAir and Ethiopian Airlines.
The agency estimated the seized opioids at more than N3 billion in street value.
In Bauchi State, NDLEA operatives arrested Umar Hamidu, 35, and Abdulkarim Salihu, 45, along the Maiduguri bypass over the alleged transportation of 300 compressed blocks of skunk weighing 262.5 kilogrammes.
The drugs were allegedly concealed in a false compartment of a truck marked MUB757 YH.
In Edo State, NDLEA operatives, supported by soldiers, destroyed two cannabis farms at Eko Camp, Ilushi, last Wednesday. The agency estimated their combined potential yield at 1,360.23 kilogrammes of cannabis.
Two Togolese nationals, Yinusa Abdulsamad, 35, and Fatai Baba, 33, were also arrested at Iganna-Ilero Road, Iganna, Oyo State.
NDLEA said the suspects were intercepted on Saturday with 305.6 kilogrammes of skunk concealed in two pickup vans. Preliminary investigations, according to the agency, indicated that they were allegedly involved in moving Ghanaian-sourced cannabis into Nigeria through the Oyo axis.
In Lagos, operatives raided Anifowoshe Street, Mushin, on Saturday and arrested two women, Odumabo Kehinde, 36, and Obiekwe Chioma, 40, with 3.4 kilogrammes of skunk.
At the Ebute-Ero motor park on the same day, operatives intercepted Ugwu Johnson, 58, with several categories of illicit substances.
NDLEA listed the exhibits as 5.920 kilogrammes of skunk, 2,400 ampoules of pentazocine injection, 8,400 tablets of nitrazepam and 40,000 pills of tramadol.
At the Seme border in Badagry, Lagos, operatives arrested five suspects in connection with 420 cartons of nitrous oxide, popularly known as laughing gas.
The consignment, weighing 1,688.4 kilogrammes, was intercepted alongside two vehicles allegedly being used to transport it from the border into Lagos.
The suspects were identified as Kingsley John, 40; John Chibuike Okeke, 44; Lamidi Ismaila, 40; Babatunde Samuel, 42; and Afeesu Idowu, 47.
Beyond the seizures and arrests, the agency said its commands and formations nationwide continued War Against Drug Abuse sensitisation programmes in schools, worship centres, workplaces and communities.
NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (rtd), commended personnel of the MMIA, AIIA, Lagos, Oyo, Edo, Seme and Bauchi commands involved in the operations and urged officers nationwide to sustain the agency’s drug control efforts.
Michael Olugbode
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