ABUJA The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has arrested a 48-year-old businessman, Nwankwo Innocent Onyebuchi, with 1.55kg of cocaine concealed in the side walls and railings of his travelling bag at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, while attempting to board a Qatar Airways flight to New Delhi, India.
Onyebuchi, who deals in marble in Lagos, was arrested at the departure hall of Terminal II of the airport after operatives searched his check-in bag and discovered the cocaine factory-fitted into its walls and railings.
According to the suspect, he sold his marble business and other assets to raise the N23m he allegedly paid for the consignment, hoping to sell it for as much as N100m in India.
The NDLEA Director, Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, disclosed this in a statement on Sunday, adding that the suspect was in custody and would be prosecuted.
Babafemi said operatives also raided a warehouse in a residential compound on Hakeem Dosumu Street, Ago Palace area of Okota, Lagos, where they recovered 3,776 cartons containing 377,600 bottles of codeine-based syrup valued at over N2.6bn.
The seizure was made between Friday, August 7, and Saturday, August 8, 2026, following intelligence received by the agency.
In another operation in Lagos, operatives raided the residence of a 55-year-old suspected drug kingpin, Shoremi Kayode, at Ogundare Street, Ipaja Estate, Ipaja, where they recovered 324kg of Colorado, a synthetic strain of cannabis, valued at N972m.
Two vehicles, a Mercedes-Benz and a Toyota Corolla, were also recovered from the suspect.
In Kwara State, two suspects, Abubakar Adamu, 50, and Bilyaminu Nuhu, 30, were arrested at the Kam Wire area of Ilorin with 55.96kg of skunk in a truck marked DKA 350 XL.
Meanwhile, a 70-year-old man, Abdulfatai Oyelaran, and his alleged accomplice, Abdulrauf Ajadi, 50, were arrested along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway in Ibadan, Oyo State.
NDLEA officers recovered 52,000 ampoules of pentazocine injection and 6,000 ampoules of tramadol injection from their Toyota Sienna marked FFA-115KA.
In Edo State, the agency destroyed 4,628.9775kg of skunk on two cannabis farms measuring 1.85 hectares at Ugboku/Igbanke forest in Orhionmwon Local Government Area.
A suspect, Agholor Elebojie, 40, was arrested on one of the farms, while another suspect, Kingsley Anigala, 28, was arrested during a raid on drug joints in Oluku, Benin City, with 25.857kg of Loud and 93g of methamphetamine.
In Delta State, NDLEA operatives arrested Osaro Ikpoba, 43, and Samuel Godbless, 18, along the Onitsha-Asaba Expressway and recovered 124,100 tramadol pills, 786 bottles of codeine syrup, 2,598 tablets of Rohypnol, 4,800 tablets of diazepam, 470 ampoules of pentazocine and 200 ampoules of tramadol.
Another suspect, Emeka Tony, 50, was arrested along the Kwale-Ozoro Expressway with 1,244 cartridges and N8m cash.
In Plateau State, operatives intercepted a Toyota Corolla marked MKD 341 EA along the Riyom-Jos Road and recovered 239,490 capsules of Tramaforce, a brand of tramadol. A suspect, Kasum Sherif, was arrested.
In Kano State, six suspects—Okodili Ibeabuchi, 60; Onyeka Vincent, 47; Nwanko Wisdom, 36; Success Chigozie, 30; Emmanuel Jude, 27; and Chinedu Peter, 39—were arrested along the Zaria-Kano Road.
The agency said 728,958 pills of tramadol, Rohypnol and other opioids, 360g of cocaine, 99.8g of methamphetamine, 50 bottles of codeine syrup and 2.7kg of Loud were recovered from the suspects.
Also in Kano, NDLEA operatives raided Zawaciki Gida Dubu in Kumbotso Local Government Area, recovering 171 blocks of skunk weighing 106.8kg. Two suspects, Mustapha Iliya, 30, and Abdulwahab Abdulrashid, 24, were arrested.
The NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), commended the officers and men of the Lagos, Kano, Kwara, Edo, Plateau, Oyo and Delta commands for the arrests and seizures.
Marwa also praised commands across the country for maintaining what he described as a fair balance between drug supply reduction and demand reduction efforts, including the agency’s War Against Drug Abuse sensitisation campaigns.