NDLEA Nabs China-Based Businessman, Two Angolans With 236 Cocaine Pellets at Abuja, Kano Airports; Foils Fresh Smuggling Attempts Nationwide
Oru Leonard
A Nigeria-born businessman based in China and two Angolan nationals have expelled a combined 236 pellets of cocaine after their arrest by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport and the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport.
The businessman, Ibeanu Vincent Chukwudulue, 34, was apprehended on Wednesday, February 4, 2026, while boarding Qatar Airways flight QR1432 from Kano to China via Abuja and Doha. Acting on credible intelligence, NDLEA officers in Abuja requested that he be removed from the aircraft for screening. A body scan confirmed he had ingested illicit substances. Under observation, he excreted 52 cocaine pellets weighing 735.95 grams. Ibeanu disclosed that he previously ran a business on Lagos Island before relocating to Guangzhou, China, in 2024.
On the same day in Kano, two Angolan nationals—Mbandu Martins Makiadi, 50, and Ngoma Wilson Fernando, 52—were intercepted at the departure hall of Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport during clearance for an outbound Ethiopian Airlines flight ET940 to Istanbul via Addis Ababa. Body scans confirmed drug ingestion. Mbandu excreted 76 wraps of cocaine weighing 920 grams, while Ngoma expelled 108 pellets weighing 1.33 kilograms. The suspects, who hail from Hoji Ya Henda in Luanda, Angola, told investigators they were recruited by a Luanda-based auto spare parts dealer who promised each of them $3,000 upon successful delivery in Turkey.
In a related development, NDLEA operatives at the export shed of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport foiled an attempt to smuggle 1.10 kilograms of cocaine concealed in processed cassava granules (garri) to London on a Virgin Atlantic flight. Investigations revealed that the plot was orchestrated from prison by convicted drug trafficker Olashupo Michael Oladimeji, currently serving a five-year sentence at the Ikoyi Correctional Centre following his conviction by the Federal High Court, Lagos, in 2025 for attempting to export 17.90 kilograms of cocaine.
The latest consignment, hidden inside a sack of garri and further packaged in a carton, was intercepted on Thursday, February 12. A staff member of Dimeji Express Logistics, Adedeji Yusuf Gbolahan, who presented the shipment for export, was arrested. Findings showed that Oladimeji coordinated the operation from custody and directed Yusuf to retrieve the consignment from Oshodi.
Similarly, a 44-year-old estate surveyor, Adelaja Taiwo Adetayo, was arrested for attempting to export 1.70 kilograms of skunk concealed in five jerry cans to the United Kingdom. The cargo agent, Mustapha Quddus Opeyemi, who presented the consignment, was initially detained, while subsequent investigations led to Adelaja’s arrest in the Ahmadiyya area of Lagos on February 9.
In Abuja, NDLEA officers on February 12 intercepted a parcel from Enugu containing a children’s toy guitar used to conceal two parcels of Canadian Loud, a strain of cannabis, weighing 59.2 grams. A follow-up operation led to the arrest of the consignment’s owner, Henry Onuma, at Dream City Estate, Life Camp.
In Lagos, operatives raided a four-bedroom duplex at Ikate-Elegushi, Lekki, used for the production and storage of Colorado, a synthetic cannabis variant. The operation followed the seizure of 73 cartons of nitrous oxide at Iyare Motor Park along the Ajah–Epe Expressway, intended for onward delivery to Benin City, Edo State. The driver, Amos Innocent, was arrested, while Victor Oyedeji was apprehended at the Lekki residence where 13.2 kilograms of freshly produced Colorado and precursor chemicals were recovered.
In Ibadan, Oyo State, a suspected drug dealer, Oluwayemisi Bunmi, 45, was arrested at her residence in the Hope Alakia area. Recovered items included 1.189 kilograms of Colorado and skunk, 320 grams of methamphetamine, ₦2,975,000 in cash, and two Toyota Matrix vehicles.
In Kwara State, NDLEA operatives intercepted a J5 vehicle at Bode Saadu on February 12, recovering 105,400 tramadol pills from the suspect, Kamilu Abdullahi, 43.
Meanwhile, in Edo State, five suspects—Murtala Mohammed, Abdulkadir Idris Mohammed, Ufoma Edafe, Anthony Aghati, and Emmanuel Owalu Ekele—were arrested during a raid on Yoruba Camp in Olumoye Forest, Ovia North East LGA, where 563.5 kilograms of skunk were seized.
Across its commands nationwide, the NDLEA also sustained its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitization campaign in schools, religious centres, workplaces, and communities.
Commending officers of the MAKIA, MMIA, NAIA, Lagos, Edo, Kwara, FCT, and Oyo Commands for their efforts, NDLEA Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), urged personnel to maintain the agency’s balanced strategy of drug supply and demand reduction in the ongoing fight against narcotics.
(NDLEA Headquarter Media, 15 February, 2026)
