NDLEA Intercepts Indian Lady with 72 Parcels of Heroin in Chocolate Wrappers at Kano Airport
…Tramadol Concealed in Gas Cylinder, Cocaine and Skunk Seized in Kano and Lagos Raids
Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have intercepted a 42-year-old Indian national, Ms Neetu Neetu, at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport (MAKIA), Kano, with 72 parcels of heroin factory-sealed in wafer wrappers and disguised as chocolates.
The Class A drug consignment, weighing a total of 11 kilograms, was discovered during an inward clearance of Qatar Airways flight QR1431 from Bangkok, Thailand, via Vietnam and Doha, at the Kano airport’s arrival hall on Friday, 14th March 2025.
Neetu’s arrest followed a thorough search of her luggage after processed credible intelligence pointed to suspicious activity.
Reacting to the arrest, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA, Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retd), highlighted the increasing attempt by drug trafficking syndicates to recruit white women and foreign nationals to smuggle illicit drugs through Nigerian borders.
“The vigilance of NDLEA operatives, aided by modern technological tools and proactive intelligence, has consistently frustrated such attempts,” Marwa stated.
In a separate operation in Kano, NDLEA officers arrested a 45-year-old suspect, Michael Ogundele, on Thursday, 20th March, at Gadar Tamburawa along the Zaria-Kano road.
Acting on credible intelligence, officers discovered 50,000 tramadol pills (225mg) concealed inside a 50-litre steel gas cylinder. Welding tools were used to cut open the cylinder, revealing the hidden drugs.
Further operations in Kano led to the arrest of Sunday Ogar, 40, at Gunduwawa on Wednesday, 19th March, with 27 kilograms of skunk (a potent strain of cannabis). Similarly, a female suspect, Khadijah Abdullahi, 40, was apprehended on Tuesday, 18th March, at Lungun Bulala Yalwa with 424 bottles of codeine-based syrup.
In Lagos, NDLEA operatives apprehended two suspects, Olumuyiwa Kolawole and Samod Adisa, with 67.5 kilograms of skunk in Mushin.
Additionally, 100.8 kilograms of the same psychoactive substance were recovered from the store of two fleeing suspects in Anifowoshe, Mushin.
Also in Lagos, Isah Idris was arrested on Tuesday, 18th March, in Apapa with 4.5 kilograms of skunk, 600 grams of tramadol (225mg), and 30 litres of codeine syrup.
On the same day, another suspect, Yahaya Mohamed, was apprehended in Ikotun with varying quantities of cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine.
The NDLEA’s War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) social advocacy campaign remained active across the country in the past week.
Sensitisation lectures were conducted for students and staff at various institutions, including Chrisland School, Ikeja, Lagos; Hakimi Secondary School, Mokwa, Niger State; Marist Comprehensive College, Nteje, Anambra State; Ikole City College, Ekiti State; Government Day Secondary School, Sunane, Sokoto State; and Government Day Secondary School, Jada, Adamawa State.
Commending the operatives of the MAKIA, Lagos, and Kano Commands for their successful arrests and seizures, Brig. Gen. Marwa expressed satisfaction with the agency’s balanced approach to drug supply and demand reduction.
He urged the officers to remain vigilant and continue their determined efforts to rid Nigeria of illicit drug activities.
