Man Arrested with 127 Cocaine Wraps at Kano Airport as NDLEA Uncovers Drugs Concealed in Ceramics, Drinks and Bags
…Agency Intercepts Meth, Opioids, and Cannabis Bound for UK, Europe, UAE, and South Africa
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intensified its global anti-narcotics operations with the arrest of a 52-year-old businessman, Ejiofor Godwin Emeka, who excreted 127 wraps of cocaine after being apprehended at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport (MAKIA), Kano.
Ejiofor, who runs boutiques in Lagos and Onitsha, Anambra State, was arrested upon arrival from Bangkok, Thailand, via an Ethiopian Airlines flight (ET 941) on Wednesday, 8th October 2025.
His arrest followed credible intelligence that prompted NDLEA operatives to subject him to a body scan, which confirmed the presence of illicit drugs concealed in his body and private part.
According to NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi, a total of 58 wraps of cocaine were recovered immediately from the suspect’s undergarments.
He was subsequently placed under excretion observation, during which he expelled an additional 69 pellets in seven rounds of excretion. In total, 127 wraps of cocaine weighing 1.388 kilograms were recovered.
In another major operation, NDLEA operatives intercepted three consignments of illicit substances bound for the United Kingdom on Thursday 9th and Friday 10th October 2025 at a courier company in Lagos. One of the shipments contained 1.74 kilograms of methamphetamine cleverly hidden inside blocks of glass ceramics.
A second consignment contained 114 grams of pentazocine and 168 grams of tramadol injections, while the third concealed 48 grams of tramadol capsules inside Vitamin C containers – all destined for the UK.
The agency also thwarted attempts by other drug syndicates to traffic various substances to different international destinations. These included 2.6 kilograms of skunk and 422 grams of tapentadol tablets hidden in black soap bound for Turkey, 169 grams of cocaine tucked in women’s handbags heading to Australia, and 568 grams of “Loud” – a potent strain of cannabis – concealed in herbal containers meant for the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
At the export shed of the Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, NDLEA officers intercepted 27,510 pills of rohypnol concealed in sachets of alcoholic drinks destined for South Africa. Following the arrest of a freight agent and a cab driver linked to the consignment, a follow-up operation at Oyingbo Market led to the capture of the prime suspect, 46-year-old Samuel Omoruyi, also known as “Yellow”, on 2nd October.
On the same day, an Italy-based businessman, Enehizena Augustine Uyimwen, was arrested while attempting to smuggle 3,700 pills of tramadol (225mg) and 2,600 tablets of tapentadol (200mg) concealed in food items to Europe. He confessed to trafficking the opioids for another individual in exchange for €945.
NDLEA’s state commands also recorded significant breakthroughs in domestic operations. In Edo State, a raid on the home of a suspect, Emmanuel Sunday, 33, at Ugbekpe Ekperi, Etsako Central Local Government Area, led to the discovery of 47 kilograms of skunk.
Similarly, in Osun State, two men – Nureni Ayobami Eleweodo, 48, and Oladejo Taiwo, 52 – were arrested on 8th October at Omifufun village, Ife South LGA, after NDLEA seized 635 kilograms of skunk from their Toyota Hiace bus. Two others, Timothy Omiwole, 41, and Isaac Achiatan, 36, were caught in the same area with 100 kilograms of the drug and a motorcycle.
In Rivers State, operatives nabbed two suspects, Okoro Julius, 20, and Onyebuchi Nwibo, 25, in separate operations in Port Harcourt, recovering 8.5 kilograms of skunk. In Katsina State, 46-year-old Sulaiman Kalalu was apprehended after NDLEA officers found 29.5 kilograms of cannabis in his residence at Bayan Asiti, Jibia town.
Meanwhile, NDLEA officers in Niger State arrested a 29-year-old suspect, Yisa Daniel, in New Bussa with 22,000 capsules of tramadol, 800 ampoules of pentazocine injections, and 150,000 pills of Exol-5.
In Ondo State, 312 kilograms of skunk were recovered from a forest camp in Ologede, Ogbese, while in a separate operation on the Benin-Lagos expressway, officers intercepted a vehicle carrying 141.8 kilograms of cannabis and arrested two suspects, Francis John (39) and Adeyemi Taiwo (46).
In Kaduna, a suspect identified as Rufai Ahmed (alias Farin Malam), 27, was arrested at the Abuja-Kaduna toll gate while transporting 150,000 pills of Exol-5 from Lagos to Katsina.
Beyond arrests and seizures, NDLEA continued its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) advocacy in schools, workplaces, and communities nationwide.
Sensitisation lectures were held at institutions including General Murtala Mohammed College, Yola; Assembly of God Secondary School, Abakaliki; Community Girls Secondary School, Bakori; Girls Secondary School, Nenwe; Sacred Heart Secondary School, Kabba; and Ebenezer Model Secondary School, Onitsha, among others.
NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retd), commended officers and men of the agency’s commands in Kano, Lagos, Edo, Osun, Rivers, Katsina, Niger, Ondo, and Kaduna for their diligence, professionalism, and consistent results.
He urged them to maintain their “tenacity, professionalism, and balanced approach” in advancing Nigeria’s drug control efforts and safeguarding the nation from the menace of narcotics trafficking.
