Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a Brazil-based Nigerian businessman, Uche Franklin Onyekwere, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, for attempting to smuggle cocaine into the country, as the agency recorded massive drug seizures across several states.
Onyekwere, 47, was arrested last Thursday at the arrival hall of the Lagos airport while clearing passengers from a South African Airways flight from Brazil via Johannesburg. The arrest followed what the agency described as “processed intelligence.”
Confirming the development in a statement on Sunday, the NDLEA Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, said the suspect’s nervous behaviour prompted officers to subject him to a body scan, which confirmed illicit drug concealment.
“A strip search revealed a large parcel of white powdery substance later confirmed to be cocaine, strapped to his right thigh. Two additional wraps were also discovered concealed in the soles of his footwear,” Babafemi said.
According to the NDLEA, a total of three wraps of cocaine weighing 1.60 kilograms were recovered from the suspect’s body and shoes.
During preliminary interrogation, Onyekwere reportedly admitted purchasing the cocaine in Brazil with plans to sell it in Nigeria to raise capital for his toy business and fund the naming ceremony of his newborn child. He claimed to have lived in São Paulo, Brazil, since 2008.
In a related operation at the Tincan Island Port in Lagos, NDLEA officers, in collaboration with Customs and other security agencies, intercepted 55 jumbo bags of Canadian Loud — a potent strain of cannabis — weighing 1,183 kilograms. The drugs were discovered inside a container imported from Montreal, Canada, concealed within a Hyundai SUV and a Toyota Matrix vehicle.
The agency also recorded major seizures in Niger State, where operatives intercepted a long truck along the Dei-Dei–Abuja Expressway on January 26. Three suspects — Andy Chidogu (49), Kenneth Ogene (45), and Sadiq Olanrewaju (27) — were arrested with 176 bags of skunk weighing 2,735 kilograms, alongside one kilogram of Colorado, a synthetic cannabis.
Investigations revealed the truck had initially transported flour from Lagos to Edo State before being loaded with the illicit drugs for a fee of N1.7 million.
In Edo State, NDLEA operatives arrested Shaibu Yusuf along the Auchi-Abuja Expressway while attempting to transport 66 bags of skunk concealed in charcoal sacks, weighing 792 kilograms. Another operation in the state led to the destruction of over 4,063 kilograms of cannabis on a 1.6-hectare farm at Ebora camp, Ilushi, Esan South-East Local Government Area. Four suspects were arrested during the raid.
Similarly, in Anambra State, NDLEA officers intercepted a cement truck at Upper Iweka, Onitsha, where 345.2 kilograms of skunk were hidden among bags of cement. One of the suspects, Abum Okeke, 42, was arrested at the scene.
Further seizures were recorded in Ondo and Kano states. In Ondo, two suspects were arrested in connection with 473 kilograms of skunk, while in Kano, operatives recovered 12,500 ampoules of pentazocine injection from Abdullahi Usman, 45. Another suspect was arrested with 4,390 pills of tramadol in Gaya area of the state.
Additional arrests were made in Lagos and at the Seme border, where skunk concealed in luggage, sound systems and food items was intercepted.
Babafemi said the cumulative seizures across Lagos, Niger, Edo, Anambra and Ondo states amounted to over 9,939 kilograms of cannabis and related substances.
He added that NDLEA officers nationwide also intensified the War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation campaigns in schools, religious centres and communities during the period.
Commending the officers involved in the operations, NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), urged personnel across the country to sustain the agency’s balanced approach to drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction.