India-Bound Brothers Arrested with 5kg Cocaine at Lagos Airport as NDLEA Intensifies Crackdown Nationwide
…Also intercepts UK techie with cannabis at MMIA, nabs 75-year-old grandpa in Abia, destroys over 250,000kg of cannabis in Cross River
In a major breakthrough in the ongoing war against drug trafficking, operatives of a Special Operations Unit 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 5 kilograms of cocaine to India.
The suspects were apprehended on Thursday, 3rd April 2025, during a special operation following the proactive analysis of credible intelligence.
According to a statement signed by Femi Babafemi, Director, Media and Advocacy at the NDLEA, the brothers claimed they were travelling to India for medical treatment.
However, a thorough search of their luggage by vigilant officers led to the discovery of a whitish powdery substance cleverly concealed within the inner linings of their suitcases. The substance was later confirmed to be cocaine.
In a related development on the same day, officers of the MMIA Strategic Command intercepted a 20-year-old Ghanaian-British national, Parker Darren Hazekia Osei, who was in possession of 36 parcels of Loud, a highly potent strain of cannabis. The total weight of the consignment stood at 19.40kg, packed in a large travelling bag.
Osei, who claims to be a Computer Science student at East London University in the United Kingdom, was arrested during the inward passenger clearance for an Ethiopian Airlines flight from Bangkok, Thailand.
In his statement, he admitted leaving the UK for Bangkok a week earlier, where he picked up the consignment for delivery in Nigeria.
Meanwhile, in Kogi State, NDLEA operatives arrested a 33-year-old woman, Ngozi Ogili, who was transporting 3 kilograms of methamphetamine from Lagos to Abuja.
She was apprehended on Monday, 31st March 2025, while travelling on a commercial bus along the Okene-Lokoja highway.
A follow-up operation at her Abuja delivery point, located in the Apo mechanic area, led to the seizure of additional quantities of Loud and Colorado—both synthetic cannabis strains.
In Abia State, NDLEA officers arrested 75-year-old Nna Nnanna Felix with 1.6 kilograms of skunk, another cannabis strain, during a raid on Saturday, 5th April, at Umunteke Asa, Ukwa West Local Government Area.
Similarly, 21-year-old David Chinemerem was nabbed on Tuesday, 1st April, with 2,050 ampoules of pentazocine, an opioid analgesic, at 7 Nnajiego Lane, Umuode Road, Aba.
In Yobe State, a raid by operatives on Saturday, 5th April, led to the seizure of 381 bottles of codeine syrup and 108 tablets of tramadol from a suspect, Abdullahi Adamu, along the Potiskum-Damaturu road.
Further arrests in Anambra State included Obinna Sunday, apprehended following raids at the Osogbo motor park in Onitsha and a residential house in Oba, Idemili LGA. Officers recovered 195,000 tramadol pills during the operation.
Also caught during the motor park raid was Ugochukwu Ojalanonye, found with 4.2 kilograms of codeine syrup and 5.4 kilograms of pentazocine.
In Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory, a raid at Wuse market on Thursday, 3rd April, resulted in the arrest of 51-year-old Sunday Ayogu with 25 kilograms of skunk and 90.4 grams of methamphetamine.
The next day, Friday, 4th April, two women – Faith Effiong Etim, 64, and Victoria Asuquo Etim, 40 – were arrested during a joint NDLEA and Nigerian Army operation at Esuk-Odot community, Odukpani LGA, Cross River State.
The operatives destroyed over 250,000 kilograms of cannabis cultivated across more than 100 hectares of farmland.
NDLEA’s nationwide efforts also extended to drug demand reduction initiatives through its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) campaign. Sensitisation programmes were held in schools, religious centres, and communities.
These included lectures at Cave City Secondary School in Ogidi, Anambra State; outreach to residents of Dan’iyau village in Batagarawa LGA, Katsina State; and engagement with members of the Nigerian Association of Patent and Proprietary Medicine Dealers in Yola, Adamawa State.
Commending the officers and men involved in the various successful operations, NDLEA Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), lauded their balanced approach to both drug supply and demand reduction.
He affirmed that their operational effectiveness was not only yielding results but also reinforcing the agency’s resolve to dismantle the illicit drug network across the country.
