NDLEA Foils Iran-Bound Cocaine Smuggling Attempt, Arrests British Ex-Convict with 37.6kg Cannabis at Lagos Airport
…Massive seizures of cannabis, tramadol, codeine recorded across Nigeria
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has thwarted a daring attempt by a female suspect to traffic cocaine to Iran by concealing the drug in her private parts, handbag, and stomach.
The arrest was made at Port Harcourt International Airport, Rivers State, as part of a broader nationwide crackdown that also saw the interception of a British ex-convict with 37.6 kilogrammes of cannabis at Lagos airport, and the seizure of over 3,000kg of cannabis and other narcotics across several states.
The suspect, identified as Ihensekhien Miracle Obehi, was intercepted on Sunday, 3rd May 2025 at the departure hall of the Port Harcourt airport while attempting to board a Qatar Airways flight to Iran via Doha.
She had disguised herself in a hijab in an attempt to evade security scrutiny, but was apprehended following credible intelligence.
A thorough search revealed that Obehi had inserted three wraps of cocaine in her private part and concealed two large parcels of the drug in a false bottom of her handbag.
Additionally, she had swallowed 67 pellets of cocaine, which were later recovered after a medically supervised excretion process that lasted several days.
The total weight of the illicit substances recovered from her body was 2.523 kilogrammes. During interrogation, Obehi confessed that she intended to swallow 70 pellets but managed only 67 before resorting to hiding the remaining three internally.
In a separate operation, NDLEA operatives at Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, arrested a 22-year-old British national, Campell Kaizra Kofi Johannes Slifer, on Friday, 9th May.
Slifer, who was arriving from Thailand via Doha on a Qatar Airways flight, was found in possession of two suitcases containing 35 parcels of Loud, a potent variant of cannabis, weighing 37.60 kilogrammes.
During preliminary investigation, Slifer admitted to having been convicted twice in the United Kingdom for drug trafficking and robbery. He further disclosed that he was recruited in London to collect the consignment from Thailand and deliver it to Nigeria.
Meanwhile, in Niger State, NDLEA officers intercepted a fuel tanker and three other vehicles loaded with 246 bags of cannabis sativa, known locally as skunk, weighing a combined 3,047 kilogrammes.
The operation, carried out on Wednesday, 7th May along the Suleja-Kaduna road, led to the arrest of four suspects: Christopher Onyema (47), Benedict Etineruba Young (54), Chukwudi Ujue Jerry (30), and Mohammed Abdullahi Danasabe.
The vehicles impounded include a fuel truck (ABJ 693 XU), a Honda Odyssey bus (YAB 667 CZ), a Gulf bus (GWA 125 TQ), and another Honda Odyssey (ABJ 230 CN).
In Lagos, NDLEA operatives raided a location at Oja Amukoko in the Ijora area, seizing a total of 109,914 pills of tramadol, swinol, and nitrazepam from two suspects, Eze Chekube Emmanuel and Ike Samuel Chinyerem, on Thursday, 8th May.
Kaduna State operatives recovered 52.5 kilogrammes of skunk from two suspects – Lukman Sabo Umar (23) and Tukur Ammadu (20) – who were arrested aboard a commercial bus in Gwantu, Sanga Local Government Area, on Tuesday, 6th May. Similarly, on Monday, 5th May, NDLEA officers patrolling the Bode Saadu-Jebba expressway in Kwara State arrested Rufai Nasiru in possession of 45,400 pills of tramadol (225mg).
In Bauchi State, a Toyota Tundra jeep marked RBC 111 DW was intercepted on Tuesday, 6th May along the Bauchi-Gombe road. It was found carrying 526 blocks of skunk weighing 505 kilogrammes. Two suspects, Isaac Onogure (37) and Ikechukwu Peter (44), were arrested in connection with the haul.
A separate raid conducted in the Rijiyar Zaki area of Kano on Saturday, 10th May led to the discovery of 775 litres of codeine syrup contained in 31 kegs. Two men, Hafizu Isa Uman (34) and Ismail Shehu (48), were taken into custody.
Additionally, NDLEA operatives intercepted a 1.1 kilogramme consignment of Loud hidden inside a pillow at a courier company in Lagos. The shipment had originated from Thailand and was stopped on Tuesday, 6th May.
Beyond enforcement actions, the NDLEA continued its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) advocacy campaigns nationwide.
The agency delivered sensitisation lectures at Federal Government College, Sokoto; Deeper Life International College, Nteje, Anambra State; Martins Sanda Girls Science College, Paikoro, Niger State; Restoration Power International School, Idua-Eket, Akwa Ibom State; and at Iseyin Central Mosque in Oyo State, where members of the League of Imams and Alfas were sensitised.
Chairman/Chief Executive of NDLEA, Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retired), commended the dedication of officers and personnel across key commands including the Directorate of Operations and General Investigation (DOGI), MMIA, Port Harcourt International Airport (PHIA), Lagos, Kano, Kaduna, Bauchi, Kwara, and Niger.
He lauded their steadfast commitment to both drug supply reduction and demand reduction across the federation.
