By Deborah Nnamdi
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a Lagos-based businessman, Nwabueze Nicholas Izueke, for allegedly attempting to smuggle 1.589 kilograms of cocaine by ingesting 95 wraps of the illicit drug.
The arrest was made at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport (MAKIA), Kano, according to a statement issued by the Director of Media and Advocacy of the NDLEA, Femi Babafemi.
Babafemi said the 62-year-old suspect was intercepted on Saturday, January 31, 2026, during the outward clearance of passengers preparing to travel to China via Addis Ababa on Ethiopian Airlines flight ET940. A routine body scan reportedly tested positive for ingested illicit substances, after which Izueke was placed under excretion observation.
The agency disclosed that during the observation period, the suspect expelled a total of 95 jumbo-sized wraps of cocaine in seven separate excretions, confirming that the drug had been concealed in his stomach.
While under interrogation, Izueke reportedly claimed to be involved in clothing and auto spare parts businesses in Lagos. He allegedly told operatives that he ventured into drug trafficking in an attempt to raise funds to complete a residential building project in his hometown, Iwollo, in Enugu State.
The arrest forms part of a broader nationwide crackdown by the NDLEA on drug trafficking and abuse, which has led to multiple seizures and arrests across several states. In the Federal Capital Territory, operatives recovered 627.7 kilograms of skunk, a potent strain of cannabis, from a makeshift warehouse in Kubwa. Attempts to smuggle methamphetamine concealed in MP3 speakers from Enugu to Abuja and Kaduna were also foiled.
In Taraba State, intelligence-led patrols intercepted 1.8 kilograms of methamphetamine hidden in packs of yoghurt at a checkpoint, with the consignment reportedly destined for Adamawa State. Similar operations in Oyo, Kwara, Imo, Ondo, and Lagos states led to the arrest of several suspects and the seizure of cannabis, tramadol, pentazocine injections, and cocaine, including wraps concealed in a handbag carried by a passenger arriving by boat from Côte d’Ivoire.
In Ibadan, NDLEA officers arrested a suspected drug kingpin operating a facility for the production of Colorado, a synthetic strain of cannabis. Precursor chemicals, quantities of skunk, large sums of cash, and two vehicles were recovered during the operation.
Further operations saw NDLEA operatives in Kwara State intercept nearly 400,000 capsules of tramadol hidden inside a fuel tanker bound for Maiduguri. In Imo State, a couple was arrested with 203 kilograms of skunk, while in Ondo State, 420 kilograms of the same substance were recovered from a bush at Ikun Akoko. In Lagos, additional suspects were apprehended with 31 wraps of cocaine concealed in a handbag and 3.6 kilograms of Canadian Loud and Colorado seized on Lagos Island.
The NDLEA said it also sustained its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation campaigns in schools, religious centres, workplaces, and communities nationwide to raise awareness about the dangers of drug trafficking and substance abuse.
The agency noted that it has repeatedly intercepted cocaine traffickers who attempt to smuggle drugs by ingesting wraps or concealing them in their bodies during air travel. It cited past cases at MAKIA and the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, where suspects swallowed dozens of cocaine wraps in similar trafficking attempts, underscoring the persistence of the practice despite intensified enforcement.
