Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a Brazil-based Nigerian businessman, Uche Franklin Onyekwere, for attempting to smuggle cocaine into the country through the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos.

Onyekwere, 47, was apprehended on Thursday, January 29, 2026, at the arrival hall of the airport during the inward clearance of passengers on a South African Airways flight from Brazil via Johannesburg, following what the agency described as “processed intelligence.”

NDLEA operatives said the suspect was subjected to a full-body scan, which confirmed the concealment of illicit drugs.

A subsequent strip search led to the discovery of a large parcel of white powdery substance, later confirmed to be cocaine, wrapped around the suspect’s right thigh.

Further search also revealed two additional wraps of the same substance concealed in the soles of a pair of flat shoes worn by the suspect.

“In all, three large wraps of cocaine, with a gross weight of 1.60 kilograms, were recovered from his body and footwear,” the agency disclosed.

During preliminary interrogation, Onyekwere confessed that he purchased the cocaine consignment in Brazil with the intention of reselling it in Nigeria.

According to him, the proceeds were meant to raise capital to boost his business and also finance the naming ceremony of his newly born child.

The suspect, who resides at Rua Ever, Mulariuha, São Paulo, told investigators that he has lived in Brazil since 2008 and has been operating a toy business for about nine years.

In a related development, the NDLEA intercepted a massive consignment of cannabis at the Tincan seaport in Lagos.

A statement issued on Sunday, February 1, by the agency’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, said 55 jumbo bags of Canadian Loud, a potent strain of cannabis weighing 1,183 kilograms, were discovered in a container imported from Montreal, Canada.

The seizure was made on Wednesday, January 28, during a joint examination by NDLEA officers, Customs and other security agencies.

“The illicit consignments were concealed inside two vehicles, a Hyundai SUV and a Toyota Matrix car,” Babafemi said.

In Niger State, NDLEA operatives acting on credible intelligence intercepted a long truck marked T 31589 LA along the Dei-Dei–Abuja Expressway in the early hours of Tuesday, January 26.

Three suspects, Andy Chidogu, 49; Kenneth Ogene, 45; and Sadiq Olanrewaju, 27, were arrested for conveying 176 bags of skunk weighing 2,735 kilograms and one kilogram of Colorado, a synthetic cannabis.

Investigations revealed that Ogene, the driver, had earlier transported 800 bags of flour from Lagos to Ekpoma, Edo State, before negotiating to transport the drugs to another destination for N1.7 million.

Multiple Seizures, Arrests Across Edo, Anambra, Ondo, Kano

In Edo State, NDLEA operatives arrested Shaibu Yusuf on Tuesday, January 27, along the Auchi–Abuja Expressway while attempting to transport 66 bags of skunk concealed in charcoal bags to Katsina.

Also in Edo, NDLEA operatives, supported by personnel of the Nigerian Army, raided a cannabis farm at Ebora Camp, Ilushi, in Esan South East Local Government Area, where 4,063.675 kilograms of skunk were destroyed across over 1.6 hectares of farmland.

Recovered at the camp were 328 kilograms of processed cannabis and seeds, while suspects arrested include Jeremiah Nwodeh, 46; Chukwudi Pius, 33; Pius Ogaba, 46; and Onora Kwene, 35.

In Anambra State, NDLEA operatives intercepted a cement truck at Upper Iweka, Onitsha, on Wednesday, January 28. A search revealed 345.2 kilograms of skunk concealed with bags of cement. One of the occupants, Abum Okeke, 42, was arrested.

In Ondo State, two suspects, Tunde Ogundele, 39, and Soji Elegbelye, 46, were arrested at Eleyewo community in Akure North in connection with the seizure of 473 kilograms of skunk.

In Kano, NDLEA operatives arrested Abdullahi Usman, 45, along Murtala Mohammed Way with 12,500 ampoules of pentazocine injection, while 4,390 pills of tramadol were recovered from Musa Shuaibu, 42, in the Gaya area of the state.

More Arrests At Lagos, Seme Border

In Lagos, Oragwan Ekene was arrested on Friday, January 30, at Okeyson Park, Alaba, with 15.5 kilograms of skunk heading to Onitsha, Anambra State.

Similarly, 3.5 kilograms of skunk were recovered from a sound system and cereal packs in the luggage of Omang Peter Edward at the Seme border, Badagry, on Tuesday, January 27, as he attempted to enter Nigeria from Cotonou, Benin Republic.

Babafemi said NDLEA officers across commands also intensified the War Against Drug Abuse sensitisation campaigns in schools, religious centres, workplaces and communities nationwide.

While commending officers of the MMIA, Tincan, Niger, Lagos, Edo, Anambra, Ondo and Kano commands for their professionalism, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), urged them to sustain the agency’s balanced approach to drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction efforts.

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