NDLEA Nabs Iran-bound Businessman for Swallowing 53 Wraps of Cocaine, Uncovers Tramadol Hidden in Winter Jackets

…As anti-narcotics agency intensifies crackdown in airports, seaports, and border communities

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a 44-year-old businessman, Ezemokwe Chukwuebuka Christian, at the Port Harcourt International Airport (PHIA) for ingesting 53 wraps of cocaine en route to Tehran, Iran.

The arrest occurred barely two weeks after a similar operation at Kano airport where another Iran-bound passenger was caught with cocaine pellets in his stomach.

According to a statement issued on Sunday, 15th June 2025 by the NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, Ezemokwe was apprehended on Saturday, 7th June while attempting to board a Qatar Airways flight QR1434 to Tehran via Doha.

A body scan confirmed the presence of illicit substances in his system, prompting immediate placement under excretion watch. He eventually excreted 53 wraps of cocaine weighing a total of 1.172 kilogrammes in six installments.

The suspect confessed to joining the transnational drug trade two years ago, claiming to have frequently travelled between West Africa and Iran as a courier.

In a related operation at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja Lagos, NDLEA officers in collaboration with Aviation Security personnel of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) intercepted Edobor Ambrose Ali, an Italy-bound passenger on an Air France flight, in the early hours of Saturday, 14th June.

A routine baggage scan at the tarmac led to the discovery of drug consignments concealed in winter jackets.

Upon further inspection, a total of 14,410 pills of Tramadol (225mg and 200mg) were recovered. Ali reportedly confessed that he resides in Italy and was recruited for the all-expense-paid trip to Nigeria to transport the illicit pharmaceutical cargo to Milan for a fee of €2,000.

Meanwhile, operatives at the Port Harcourt Ports Complex (PHPC), Onne, Rivers State, on Friday, 13th June, intercepted a container shipment of 157,800 bottles of codeine-based syrup, with a street value exceeding N1.1 billion.

The banned opioid syrup was concealed behind 257 cartons of ceramic sanitary wares. The interception was carried out during a joint inspection with the Nigeria Customs Service and other security agencies.

The anti-narcotics agency also uncovered a warehouse in Obereakai, Odukpani Local Government Area of Cross River State, on Thursday, 12th June, containing 2,687 kilogrammes of skunk, a potent cannabis strain. Three suspects – Friday Achibong Joseph (47), Abraham Anthony Willy (21), and Utibe David Okon (24) – were arrested at the scene.

On the same day, NDLEA officers in Bauchi State, acting on credible intelligence, arrested Iriemi Imonikhe (49) and Sa’idu Ladan (30) along the Bauchi-Jos road. A search of their Toyota Camry with registration number AKL 201 GG uncovered 195 blocks of skunk weighing 287kg.

At Lagos’ Oniru Beach, the agency’s Marine Command intercepted a wooden boat containing 14 jumbo sacks of skunk weighing 560kg.

Similarly, at the Muhammadu Buhari International Airport, Maiduguri, on Thursday, 12th June, operatives arrested two businessmen – Ishaku Abdullahi (30) and Buba Usman (32) – at the arrival hall of the domestic wing. They were found in possession of ecstasy pills and skunk cleverly disguised in attractive packages labelled ‘Lychee’ and ‘Porro Legal.’

In its ongoing nationwide anti-drug education drive, the NDLEA’s War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) advocacy campaign continued across several states.

Notable events included sensitisation lectures for students and staff at Command Secondary School, Orba, Enugu; Divine Gift International School, Abakaliki; Baptist Primary School, Ago-Are, Oyo; and St. Vincent Secondary School, Okobo, Akwa Ibom.

Commending the various commands involved in the week’s successes – MMIA, PHIA, MBIAM, PHPC, Marine, Cross River, and Bauchi – the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retired), praised the officers for their dedication to both drug supply and demand reduction efforts.

“These operations reflect our unrelenting resolve to disrupt illicit drug networks and protect our communities from the menace of narcotics,” Marwa said.