Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a Brazil-based Nigerian businessman, Uche Franklin Onyekwere, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos, for attempting to smuggle cocaine into the country.
Onyekwere, 47, was apprehended on Thursday, January 29, 2026, during the inward clearance of passengers on a South African Airways flight arriving from Brazil via Johannesburg, following actionable intelligence. A full body scan conducted on the suspect confirmed the presence of illicit drugs concealed on his body.
A subsequent strip search led to the recovery of three large wraps of cocaine, including one strapped to his right thigh and two others hidden in the soles of his footwear. The drugs, which tested positive for cocaine, had a combined weight of 1.60 kilograms.
During preliminary interrogation, the suspect confessed that he purchased the drugs in Brazil to resell in Nigeria in order to raise capital for his toy business and finance the naming ceremony of his newborn child. He disclosed that he has lived in São Paulo, Brazil, since 2008.
Meanwhile, at the Tincan Seaport, Lagos, NDLEA officers, in collaboration with the Nigeria Customs Service and other security agencies, intercepted 55 jumbo bags of Canadian Loud, a potent strain of cannabis weighing 1,183 kilograms.
The consignment, imported from Montreal, Canada, was concealed inside a Hyundai SUV and a Toyota Matrix vehicle within a container during a joint examination on Wednesday, January 28.
In Niger State, NDLEA operatives intercepted a truck along the Dei-Dei–Abuja Expressway on Tuesday, January 26, leading to the arrest of Andy Chidogu (49), Kenneth Ogene (45), and Sadiq Olanrewaju (27).
The suspects were transporting 176 bags of skunk weighing 2,735 kilograms, alongside one kilogram of Colorado (synthetic cannabis). Investigations revealed that the drugs were concealed after the truck delivered flour from Lagos to Ekpoma, Edo State.
Further operations in Edo State led to the arrest of Shaibu Yusuf along the Auchi–Abuja Expressway with 66 bags of skunk weighing 792 kilograms, concealed in charcoal bags.
In a separate raid at Ebora Camp, Ilushi, Esan South-East LGA, NDLEA operatives, supported by the Nigerian Army, destroyed 4,063.675 kilograms of cannabis cultivated on over 1.6 hectares of farmland, while 328 kilograms of processed cannabis and seeds were recovered. Four suspects were arrested during the raid.
In Anambra State, NDLEA officers intercepted a cement-laden truck at Upper Iweka, Onitsha, on January 28, uncovering 345.2 kilograms of skunk concealed in cement bags. The drugs were linked to Abum Okeke (42), one of the occupants of the vehicle.
In Ondo State, two suspects, Tunde Ogundele (39) and Soji Elegbelye (46), were arrested in Eleyewo community, Akure North, in connection with the seizure of 473 kilograms of skunk.
In Kano State, NDLEA operatives arrested Abdullahi Usman (45) with 12,500 ampoules of pentazocine injection, while another suspect, Musa Shuaibu (42), was nabbed in Gaya with 4,390 pills of tramadol.
Additional seizures include the arrest of Oragwan Ekene at Okeyson Park, Alaba, Lagos, with 15.5 kilograms of skunk bound for Anambra State, as well as the recovery of 3.5 kilograms of skunk from Omang Peter Edward at the Seme border, Badagry, concealed in a sound system and cereal packs.
Across the country, NDLEA commands sustained their War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation campaigns in schools, religious centres, workplaces and communities in states including Yobe, Abia, Enugu, Lagos, Katsina and Oyo.
Commending officers of the MMIA, Tincan, Niger, Lagos, Edo, Anambra, Ondo and Kano Commands for their professionalism, the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd.), urged them to sustain the agency’s balanced strategy of drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction nationwide.
