Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have intercepted cocaine concealed in food flasks at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos, preventing its export to the United Kingdom.
The agency disclosed that 12 large parcels of cocaine, weighing 2.80 kilograms, were discovered hidden in false compartments of the flasks at the airport’s export shed. The illicit consignment was scheduled for shipment on a Virgin Atlantic flight.
In a statement issued on Sunday by the Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, the NDLEA said the seizure, which occurred on April 9, 2026, led to the arrest of two cargo agents, Ama Obinna Ufeim, 33, and Ogabi Monday Akorede, 39. Further investigations identified the sender as a 52-year-old freight forwarder, Agoro Tajudeen Moninuola, who was subsequently apprehended.
In a related operation at the airport’s import shed on April 8, NDLEA officers intercepted 2.90 kilograms of “Loud,” a potent strain of cannabis, concealed in snack packs arriving from the United States aboard a Delta Air Lines flight. Two clearing agents, Animashaun Moshood Adetunji and Mercy Gabriel Oluwasegun, were initially arrested, while the consignee, 29-year-old fashion designer Saheed Adeshina Adegoke, was later apprehended at his residence in Ogba, Lagos.
The agency also reported a series of coordinated operations across the country. In Kaduna State, operatives intercepted a cement-laden trailer along the Kaduna-Zaria highway, recovering 847 kilograms of skunk hidden within the cargo. The truck driver, Umar Garba Haruna, 33, was arrested.
In Cross River State, a joint operation involving NDLEA personnel and soldiers led to the arrest of 53-year-old Alice Sunday Udoh during a raid on a forest in Uwet community, Akamkpa Local Government Area. The operation resulted in the destruction of 15,000 kilograms of skunk cultivated on six hectares of farmland, with an additional 119 kilograms recovered.
Similarly, in Edo State, operatives raided a cannabis farm in Saboro camp, Ovia North East Local Government Area, destroying 2,281.43 kilograms of the substance. Three suspects—Nweke Smart, 27; Christopher Egbe, 62; and Monday Ayan, 45—were arrested.
In Delta State, two suspects, Sunday Odili, 49, and Ijenebe Joshua, 39, were apprehended with 87.838 kilograms of skunk and seeds at the Powerline area of Okwo.
Back in Lagos, NDLEA operatives arrested Chinedu Ogbekene and Zindozin Aloukou Bienvenu along the Mile 2–Badagry Expressway while attempting to transport 11,900 capsules of tramadol and 400 ampoules of phenobarbital injection to Ghana. A separate raid on a two-storey building in Lagos Island led to the recovery of 95.8 kilograms of skunk.
The agency also highlighted its ongoing War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) campaign, noting that sensitisation programmes were conducted in schools, religious centres, workplaces, and communities nationwide over the past week.
Commending the efforts of officers across various commands, NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Mohamed Buba Marwa, praised the balance between enforcement and public education.
“I commend the officers and men of MMIA, Edo, Delta, Cross River, Kaduna, and Lagos Commands for the arrests and seizures. Their drug supply reduction efforts are well balanced with WADA sensitisation activities,” he said.
Marwa urged operatives nationwide to sustain the momentum and maintain the current tempo in the fight against drug trafficking and abuse.
