By Deborah Nnamdi
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intercepted multiple illicit drug shipments at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, including cannabis concealed in imported microwaves and cocaine hidden inside lipstick tubes. The agency also arrested several suspects across the country, including a fugitive drug kingpin who had been on the run for over a year.
In a statement released on Sunday, NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi said operatives recovered 23 parcels of “Loud,” a potent strain of cannabis weighing 11.3 kilograms, hidden in brand-new microwaves that arrived from Thailand via Ethiopian Airlines on Monday, July 7. A suspect, Ezenwegbu Chike, was arrested in connection with the consignment.
Babafemi also disclosed that NDLEA officers at the Lagos airport export shed seized another batch of drugs barely a week later—this time, cocaine embedded in lipstick containers packed alongside cosmetics and hair products in a shipment bound for Malabo, Guinea. When dismantled, the lipsticks revealed approximately 400 grams of cocaine and phenacetine, a chemical commonly used to cut the drug. A businessman, Ezeikwelume Prince Afam, was arrested on Friday, July 11, in connection with the case. This seizure came shortly after 420 grams of cocaine were found in 84 lipstick tubes headed for the United Kingdom.
In a significant breakthrough, the agency also arrested a wanted drug kingpin, Okechukwu Izugha, also known as Okey Omeogo, in Lagos. He was apprehended on Wednesday, July 9, at his wife’s shop in Ijesha Market after evading arrest for 12 months. Izugha first came under NDLEA surveillance in August 2024 when 9 kilograms of cocaine were seized from a courier in Orile, Lagos. Further investigation revealed he owned the drugs. His wife, Maureen Izugha, was earlier arrested at her store in January 2025 with 500 grams of cocaine. She was tried, convicted, and sentenced to two years in prison.
Elsewhere, NDLEA officers in Edo State destroyed over 28,000 kilograms of cannabis plants cultivated on more than 11 hectares of farmland in the Ewere Uzebba Forest, Owan West Local Government Area, on Tuesday, July 8. They also recovered 82 kilograms of processed cannabis. While exiting the forest, the officers came under gunfire from armed cartel members but successfully repelled the attack without casualties. One operational vehicle sustained bullet damage.
In Lagos, NDLEA operatives seized 1,400 compressed blocks of Ghana Loud cannabis weighing 700 kilograms and impounded a Ford delivery truck at Okun Ajah Beach. Two suspects, Innocent Ejidiobo and Friday Paul, were later arrested along the Ajah-Epe Expressway with 26 kilograms of Ghana Loud, 123 grams of methamphetamine, 45 grams of Molly, and a delivery van.
In Borno State, NDLEA arrested Godwin Chimaobi Nwaobi, 42, in Maiduguri on Saturday, July 12, with 18,759 ampoules of pentazocine, as well as quantities of tramadol and rohypnol. This followed a seizure on July 9, when Abdulrahman Bello Ahmadu, 34, was caught with 10,000 pills of tramadol.
In Gombe State, operatives recovered 116,226 pills of tramadol and D5 from five suspects—Hafiz Bello, 22; Isah Suleman, 48; Kabiru Muhammed, 30; Abdullahi Adamu, 30; and Abel Murna, 25—during separate operations at Gombe Main Market and on the Gombe-Kano road between July 8 and 12.
In Kogi State, a suspect, Sabiu Bala, was arrested along the Okene-Lokoja Expressway on Thursday, July 10, with 316.6 kilograms of skunk. In Kaduna, Haladu Suleiman, 38, was apprehended with 58.8 kilograms of skunk in the Gubuchi area of Ikara Local Government Area.
NDLEA operatives in Taraba State arrested three suspects—Auwal Ibrahim, 30; Lukman Ibrahim, 18; and Hamza Adamu, 25—at the Lanka Viri checkpoint on July 8 while they were transporting 577,890 opioid pills and 1.16 kilograms of skunk hidden in the tyre compartment of a petrol tanker.
In Kano State, three more suspects—Shamsudini Abdullahi, 35; Adamu Abdullahi, 21; and Magaji Rabo, 26—were caught on Wednesday, July 9, with 48.1 kilograms of skunk in the Janguza Barracks area.
Reacting to the widespread enforcement actions, NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), commended the officers and men of the MMIA, Special Operations Unit, and the commands in Edo, Lagos, Taraba, Kano, Kogi, Gombe, Borno, and Kaduna States for their diligence and bravery. He also applauded the agency’s personnel nationwide for their continued efforts to strike a balance between reducing drug supply and curbing demand..
