Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a 38-year-old businesswoman, Iwebema Ogechi Peace, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, after allegedly attempting to smuggle 7.5 kilograms of cocaine to China, as the agency also announced the seizure of illicit drugs worth over ₦12.3 billion and the dismantling of a syndicate accused of planting narcotics in unsuspecting passengers’ luggage.
The NDLEA disclosed the development on Sunday, saying the suspect, who claimed she regularly travelled to China to purchase goods for sale in Nigeria, was intercepted on June 21, 2026, while preparing to board a Qatar Airways flight to Beijing.
According to the agency, intelligence-led profiling prompted operatives to search her checked luggage, where they discovered four large parcels of cocaine expertly concealed in a specially constructed false bottom compartment.
The recovered cocaine weighed a total of 7.5 kilograms.
In another major breakthrough, the anti-narcotics agency announced the seizure of 4,959 kilograms of Canadian Loud, a potent strain of cannabis, valued at ₦12.397 billion, during a joint examination of a 40-foot container at the Apapa Port Complex in Lagos.
The operation, carried out on June 23, 2026, followed more than four weeks of surveillance by NDLEA’s Special Operations Units, which tracked the shipment from Toronto, Canada, through Montreal and Tangier Med, Morocco, before its arrival at Nigerian ports.
According to the agency, the container, which also carried a Ford and a Nissan vehicle, was subjected to a coordinated inspection involving officers of the NDLEA, the Nigeria Customs Service and other security agencies, leading to the recovery of the massive drug consignment.
The agency also uncovered a criminal syndicate that allegedly hides illicit drugs inside the luggage of unsuspecting interstate passengers travelling through commercial motor parks.
NDLEA said the operation began after operatives intercepted a Sienna bus travelling from Nnewi, Anambra State, to Abuja on June 20, where a suspicious waybill package containing 467.7 grams of methamphetamine was discovered concealed inside a sack of clothes.
A follow-up operation led to the arrest of the supposed recipient, Mrs. Gloria Peter, at Utako Motor Park in Abuja.
However, she reportedly denied any knowledge of the package, prompting investigators to widen the probe.
Subsequent investigations resulted in the arrest of loaders attached to the transport company in Nnewi, one of whom allegedly confessed that the package had been secretly inserted into the woman’s luggage on the instruction of the bus driver, identified as Abdurrazak Isah.
The driver was later arrested and reportedly identified one of the passengers, Onyebuchi Victor Okoye, as the owner of the narcotics.
In another operation in Lagos, NDLEA operatives arrested 57-year-old Ikechukwu Uwakwe at Iddo Motor Park on June 27, recovering 209.5 kilograms of Scottish Loud concealed in a consignment destined for Enugu.
The agency also intercepted a truck conveying illicit drugs from Togo through the Republic of Benin, leading to the arrest of two Beninese nationals, Hossou Tito Julien, 30, and Mancellim Dossou, 19, alongside a Nigerian, Jackson ThankGod.
The suspects were apprehended on Mile 2 Bridge in Lagos after operatives discovered 558,900 pills of Tramadol 250mg hidden inside a fabricated compartment of the truck.
Similarly, two other suspects, Lucky Abonga and Osas Azamobo, were arrested along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway while transporting 118 kilograms of skunk concealed among legitimate goods in a truck heading to Onitsha, Anambra State.
In a separate raid in the Amukoko area of Lagos, operatives arrested Helen Ese Idiji, 40, and Rashidat Sa’adullah, 53, recovering 28.8 kilograms of skunk.
Investigations, according to the agency, revealed that Helen allegedly stored drug consignments in Rashidat’s residence before distributing them to customers.
Beyond enforcement operations, the NDLEA said its nationwide War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) campaign continued across schools and communities, with sensitisation programmes held in educational institutions in Yobe, Lagos, Kano, Kogi and Enugu states during the past week.
Commending the officers involved in the various operations, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd.), praised the commands for sustaining the agency’s twin strategy of disrupting drug trafficking networks while intensifying public enlightenment campaigns against drug abuse.
“I commend the officers and men of the MMIA, Special Operations Units, Apapa, FCT, Anambra and Lagos Commands for the arrests and seizures. Their drug supply reduction efforts, balanced with WADA sensitisation activities, are commendable. I urge them and their compatriots across the country not to rest on their oars,” Marwa said.
