BY NECHI NAECHE-ESEZOBOR—Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a China-based Nigerian businessman and two Angolan nationals after they excreted a combined 236 wraps of cocaine at airports in Abuja and Kano.
The suspects—34-year-old Ibeanu Vincent Chukwudulue and Angolans Mbandu Martins Makiadi, 50, and Ngoma Wilson Fernando, 52—were apprehended at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport and the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport.
Ibeanu was arrested on February 4 while attempting to board a Qatar Airways flight from Kano to China via Abuja and Doha. A body scan confirmed he had ingested illicit drugs. He later excreted 52 pellets of cocaine weighing 735.95 grams. He told investigators he previously ran a business on Lagos Island before relocating to Guangzhou, China, in 2024.
On the same day in Kano, the two Angolan suspects were intercepted at the departure hall while preparing to travel to Istanbul via Addis Ababa on an Ethiopian Airlines flight. Body scans confirmed drug ingestion. Mbandu excreted 76 wraps weighing 920 grams, while Ngoma expelled 108 pellets weighing 1.33 kilograms. Both men claimed they were promised $3,000 each by a Luanda-based automobile spare parts dealer upon successful delivery of the drugs in Turkey.
In a separate operation at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), NDLEA operatives thwarted an attempt by a convicted drug kingpin, Olashupo Michael Oladimeji, to export 1.10 kilograms of cocaine concealed in garri to London on a Virgin Atlantic flight.
Oladimeji, currently serving a five-year jail term at the Ikoyi Correctional Centre, allegedly orchestrated the shipment from prison using his logistics company. NDLEA officers intercepted the consignment at the export shed of the Lagos airport on February 12 and arrested a company staff member who presented the cargo for export.
Another suspect, estate surveyor Adelaja Taiwo Adetayo, was arrested for attempting to export 1.70 kilograms of skunk hidden in jerry cans to the United Kingdom. His arrest followed the apprehension of a cargo agent who presented the consignment.
In Abuja, NDLEA officers intercepted a package from Enugu containing a children’s toy guitar used to conceal two parcels of “Canadian Loud,” a cannabis strain, weighing 59.2 grams. A follow-up operation led to the arrest of the consignment’s owner in Life Camp.
Meanwhile, in Lagos, operatives raided a four-bedroom duplex in Lekki used for producing and storing “Colorado,” a synthetic cannabis. The raid followed the seizure of 73 cartons of nitrous oxide along the Ajah–Epe expressway. Two suspects were arrested, and 13.2 kilograms of the synthetic substance were recovered alongside precursor chemicals.
In Oyo State, a 45-year-old woman was arrested in Ibadan with various narcotics, cash, and two vehicles. In Kwara State, NDLEA officers intercepted 105,400 tramadol pills from a suspect’s vehicle in Bode Saadu.
Similarly, in Edo State, five suspects were arrested during a raid on a forest camp in Ovia North East Local Government Area, where 563.5 kilograms of skunk were recovered.
Across its commands nationwide, the agency also intensified its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation campaigns in schools and communities.
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), commended officers across various commands for the arrests and seizures, urging them to sustain a balanced approach to drug supply and demand reduction efforts.
The agency’s spokesman, Femi Babafemi, disclosed the developments in a statement issued Sunday, February 15, 2026.
