NDLEA Nabs China-Bound Drug Courier at Kano Airport, Uncovers Multi-State Drug Trafficking Network
Oru Leonard
Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a 62-year-old Lagos-based businessman, Nwabueze Nicholas Izueke, at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport (MAKIA), Kano, after he was found to have ingested 95 wraps of cocaine while attempting to travel to China.
Izueke was apprehended on Saturday, 31 January 2026, during the outward clearance of passengers on Ethiopian Airlines flight ET940 en route to China via Addis Ababa. A body scan conducted by NDLEA officers confirmed he had ingested illicit drugs, after which he was placed under close medical observation. He subsequently expelled a total of 95 jumbo-sized pellets of cocaine, weighing 1.589 kilograms, in seven separate excretions.
In his statement, the suspect, who claimed to be involved in clothing and auto spare parts business in Lagos, said he ventured into drug trafficking to raise funds to complete a country home he. building in Iwollo, Enugu State.
Meanwhile, NDLEA operatives recorded several other major drug interceptions across the country. In the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), officers recovered 627.7 kilograms of skunk, a strain of cannabis, from a makeshift warehouse located within Fums Plaza, Kubwa. Also, an attempt to smuggle methamphetamine concealed inside MP3 speakers from Enugu to Abuja and Kaduna was foiled on Friday, 6 February, when operatives intercepted the consignments in a commercial bus.
A follow-up operation in Zuba, FCT, led to the arrest of Ebube Okeke, owner of one of the parcels containing 173 grams of methamphetamine. The remaining suspects — Evans Ugwu, Mohammed Eze Arinze and Friday Michael — were arrested on Saturday, 7 February, in Kaduna while attempting to collect another consignment weighing 28 grams of meth.
In a similar operation, NDLEA officers at the Dan-Anacha patrol point, Gassol Local Government Area of Taraba State, intercepted Yusuf Abubakar, 32, on Friday, 6 February, while conveying packs of Hollandia yoghurt from Lagos to Mubi, Adamawa State. A search of the yoghurt packs revealed 1.8 kilograms of methamphetamine concealed inside some of them.
In Oyo State, NDLEA operatives arrested a 29-year-old Beninoise, Shuaibu Abdulrahman, at Ibudo-Igboho village, Sooro Kishi, where 149.6 kilograms of skunk concealed in rice shafts were recovered. In a separate operation in Ibadan, Adeniyi Adeola, also known as Prince, was arrested at Foko, Agbeni Market on Wednesday, 4 February. Recovered from his truck marked BDJ 767 YC were 10,820 ampoules of pentazocine injection and 117,820 capsules of tramadol.
Also in Ibadan, NDLEA operatives dismantled a Colorado (synthetic cannabis) production facility at Badeku area with the arrest of a drug kingpin, Jimoh Nurudeen, 40, and his accomplice Ogundipe Yusuf, 27, on Saturday, 7 February. Items recovered included 8 litres of precursor chemicals, 14 grams of skunk, assorted drug-production paraphernalia, ₦7,408,400.00 in cash, and two vehicles — a Mercedes Benz SUV (ABC 832 AZ) and a Toyota Highlander (RBC 243 BS).
In Kwara State, NDLEA officers intercepted a fuel tanker conveying petrol from Lagos to Maiduguri on Saturday, 7 February, and recovered 395,400 capsules of tramadol concealed within the truck. The driver was taken into custody.
Elsewhere, a couple — Izuchukwu Azubuike, 37, and Ifunaya Mmadueke, 32 — were arrested at Umuaka, Njaba Local Government Area of Imo State with 203 kilograms of skunk, while 420 kilograms of skunk were recovered from a bush at Ikun Akoko, Ondo State, on Friday, 6 February.
At the Yekeme jetty, Badagry, Lagos State, operatives of the Marine Command seized 31 wraps of cocaine concealed in a handbag from a suspect, Eze Nodebechi Austin, upon his arrival from Côte d’Ivoire on Friday, 6 February. In Lagos Island, Adekunle Oluwatosin Olajide was arrested with 3.6 kilograms of Canadian Loud and Colorado, while in Enugu, Emeka Okeke, 37, was apprehended at his hideout in Asata, Ezeagu, with quantities of skunk, methamphetamine, cocaine, molly, and ₦457,700 in cash.
Beyond enforcement, NDLEA commands nationwide sustained their War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitization programmes across schools, worship centres, workplaces and communities.
These included enlightenment lectures at schools in Anambra, Oyo and Lagos States, as well as advocacy visits to traditional institutions, including a courtesy call by the Niger State Command on the Emir of Suleja, Alhaji Mohammed Auwal Ibrahim.
Commending the officers involved in the various operations, the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), urged them to sustain their professionalism and commitment in advancing both drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction efforts nationwide.
(NDLEA Headquarters, Abuja
Sunday, 8 February 2026)
