NDLEA Arrests Ugandan Woman with 87 Cocaine Wraps Hidden in Underwear

… Agency intercepts multi-billion-naira drug consignments, arrests suspects in nationwide operations

Oru Leonard 

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), has arrested a 34-year-old Ugandan woman, Farida Nansubuga, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, after allegedly attempting to smuggle 87 wraps of cocaine weighing 1.15 kilogrammes out of Nigeria.

The suspect was arrested on Tuesday, November 3, 2026, during a joint passenger screening operation involving NDLEA operatives and aviation security personnel at Terminal 2 of the airport.

According to the agency, the cocaine was concealed around her pelvic region and secured beneath two layers of underwear as she prepared to board a Ugandan airline flight to her home country.

A subsequent search conducted in a designated private examination room led to the recovery of 87 wraps of cocaine.

Preliminary investigations revealed that Nansubuga arrived in Nigeria on October 29 with members of her church for a spiritual programme at the Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN), located in the Ikotun-Egbe area of Lagos.

While other members of her delegation reportedly returned to Uganda after the prayer session, she allegedly remained behind to collect a drug consignment for a friend identified as Joy, who lives in Uganda.

She told investigators that a Nigerian contact arranged transportation to a hotel where an unidentified man handed her the cocaine and instructed her to conceal it beneath her clothing.

Although no definite payment was agreed upon, she reportedly expected to receive at least $1,000 after successfully delivering the drugs.

In another major interception at the Lagos airport, NDLEA operatives uncovered 750,000 tablets of Tapentadol 250mg, weighing 526 kilogrammes and valued at approximately N900 million.

The opioid consignment, which arrived from Ahmedabad, India, aboard an Ethiopian Airlines flight on November 3, was falsely declared as Paracetamol 500mg tablets.

The shipment comprised 11 cartons packed inside two wooden structures. Following surveillance, a joint examination conducted with the Nigeria Customs Service and other security agencies on November 6 revealed that 10 cartons contained Tapentadol, while only one contained paracetamol tablets.

Similarly, operatives at the airport intercepted 32 parcels of Loud, a potent cannabis strain weighing 16.15 kilogrammes, concealed inside two wooden sofas imported from Houston, Texas, United States.

The consignment arrived aboard a Turkish Airlines flight on November 4. A freight agent, Ibrahim Abdulwaheed Adewale, who presented himself to clear the shipment, was arrested.

A follow-up operation on November 6 led to the arrest of a 34-year-old caterer from Ibadan, Oyo State, Adeoye Sarafa Ojo, who allegedly came to collect the package. He reportedly identified a friend, Taiwo Anuoluwapo Olusegun, as the person who sent him.

The agency also dismantled a syndicate allegedly involved in importing chemicals used in producing Colorado, a synthetic cannabis substance, from the United Kingdom.

The operation followed the interception of nine parcels concealed inside two cartons of snacks bearing the inscription “Michael Tea Guy” in a consolidated cargo that arrived aboard an Air Peace flight on October 23.

While two parcels contained 1.2 kilogrammes of cannabis, forensic analysis confirmed that the remaining seven contained chemicals used in manufacturing synthetic cannabis.

A 51-year-old freight agent, Afolabi Abiodun Wale, was arrested while attempting to clear the consignment.

Two additional cartons subsequently arrived for the same recipient aboard an Allied Air flight from the UK. A sting operation conducted between October 26 and 28 resulted in the arrest of another 51-year-old suspect, Okwuite Benjamin Ojone, who allegedly came to collect the packages.

A search of the additional cartons uncovered three parcels weighing 3.3 kilogrammes concealed in detergent packs and 11 plastic bottles containing mainly liquid substances weighing 16.25 kilogrammes.

The total seizure from the operation amounted to 1.2 kilogrammes of cannabis and 28.65 kilogrammes of chemicals suspected to be used in synthetic cannabis production.

Meanwhile, NDLEA operatives intercepted several drug consignments destined for the United Kingdom and Australia through courier companies in Lagos.

On November 3, officers recovered 46 blocks of cannabis weighing 22.2 kilogrammes packed in two cartons and destined for the UK.

Earlier, on October 30, the agency intercepted 296 tablets of Swinol heading to Australia.

Three separate tramadol shipments destined for the UK were also intercepted. They included 20 capsules from Benin City and 96 capsules from Sapele, Delta State, concealed inside vitamin C containers, as well as 600 tablets of Tramadol 225mg from Asaba hidden inside female headwear.

In another operation in Lagos, a 32-year-old suspect, Abubakar Ali, was arrested on November 6 at Marine Beach, Apapa, following the discovery of a drug storage facility allegedly constructed inside the sitting room of his apartment.

Items recovered included 1.06 kilogrammes of Tramadol 250mg, 1.27 kilogrammes of Tramadol 225mg, 400 grammes of pregabalin capsules, 355 grammes of diazepam, 200 millilitres of codeine and 6.07 kilogrammes of cannabis.

The NDLEA also reported significant seizures and arrests across several states during the period under review.

In Ondo State, operatives raided Odofin Road, Uso, on November 6, recovering 148 bags of cannabis weighing 1,818 kilogrammes.

On the same day, officers destroyed a one-hectare cannabis plantation at Board Forest, recovering another 242 kilogrammes of the substance and arresting a 36-year-old suspect, Itoro Linus Akpan.

In neighbouring Ekiti State, a 53-year-old man, Agbo Paul Peter, was arrested at Osin Forest, Osin-Ekiti, on November 5, with 216 kilogrammes of cannabis and cannabis seeds.

In Edo State, officers intercepted a Volkswagen Golf car conveying 19 bags of cannabis weighing 201 kilogrammes along the Auchi-Ibillo Road in Akoko-Edo Local Government Area.

The driver, Abdulmumid Isah, 39, and a passenger, Danako Godwin, 25, were arrested.

Another operation at a suspected drug distribution centre on Ihama Road, GRA, Benin City, resulted in the arrest of three suspects: Emmanuel Sunday, 25; Samuel Bala, 31; and Loveth Momodu, 20. Quantities of Colorado, Loud and cannabis were recovered.

In Taraba State, three suspects were arrested within two days at the NDLEA checkpoint in Lankaviri, Yorro Local Government Area, with 283 blocks of compressed cannabis weighing 226.255 kilogrammes.

The arrests included Ibrahim Abdullahi, 45, with 156 blocks weighing 149.275 kilogrammes, and Kabiru Usman, 25, with 80 blocks weighing 40.07 kilogrammes, both on November 5.

On November 6, Babangida Babayo, 32, was arrested with another 47 blocks weighing 36.91 kilogrammes.

In Enugu State, a 57-year-old man, Celestine Uzochukwu Ejiakor, was arrested at Eke Obinagu checkpoint on November 3 with 44 blocks of cannabis weighing 22.5 kilogrammes.

At Ugwuoba checkpoint, another suspect, Godwin Shaapera, 40, was arrested with 24,000 capsules of tramadol weighing 13.4 kilogrammes and 697 grammes of ketamine.

In Delta State, NDLEA operatives arrested Edugua Othuke, 30, at Ozoro, Isoko North Local Government Area, on October 31, recovering 10.54 kilogrammes of skunk, 9.4 kilogrammes of cannabis seeds and 4.3 grammes of methamphetamine.

Another suspect, Akpofure Tobore, 34, was arrested on November 4 at Upper Agbarho, Ughelli, with quantities of skunk, tramadol, rohypnol and nitrous oxide, popularly known as laughing gas.

Beyond enforcement operations, the agency said its commands and formations nationwide sustained public enlightenment activities under its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) initiative.

The sensitisation programmes were conducted in schools, religious institutions, workplaces and communities.

Beneficiaries included students and staff of St. Andrew Basic School, Oyo; Government Technical College, Abakaliki, Ebonyi State; Sa’ad College, Kano; and Inland Girls Secondary School, Onitsha, Anambra State.

The NDLEA Zone 1 Command also paid an advocacy visit to the Emir of Bauchi, HRH Alhaji Rilwanu Sulaiman Adamu, at his palace to strengthen community support for the anti-drug campaign.

Commending officers and personnel of the affected commands, NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), described the arrest of the Ugandan woman as a troubling example of how international drug cartels exploit religious gatherings and other forms of human movement to recruit drug couriers.

Marwa warned that drug trafficking networks were increasingly deploying deceptive methods to move illicit substances across international borders.

He urged officers and men of the agency to sustain their efforts in disrupting drug supply chains while intensifying demand-reduction programmes through public education and community engagement.

(NDLEA Headquarters Media, Sunday, November 8, 2026)