Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a 38-year-old businesswoman, Iwebema Ogechi Peace, after allegedly discovering 7.5 kilograms of cocaine concealed in the false bottom of her luggage as she attempted to board a Qatar Airways flight to Beijing, China, through the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos.
The suspect, who said she regularly travels to China to purchase goods for sale in Nigeria, was intercepted at Terminal 2 of the Lagos airport on Sunday, June 21, 2026, following credible intelligence. A search of her checked luggage uncovered four large parcels of cocaine professionally hidden inside a specially fabricated compartment.
In another major operation, NDLEA operatives intercepted a 40-foot container loaded with 4,959 kilograms of Canadian Loud, a potent strain of cannabis, with an estimated street value of ₦12.397 billion. The shipment, packed in 195 large sacks alongside two vehicles, was tracked for over four weeks from Toronto, Canada, through Montreal, Morocco, and eventually to Apapa Port in Lagos, where it was seized during a joint inspection involving the Nigeria Customs Service and other security agencies.
The agency also uncovered a drug syndicate that allegedly hides illicit drugs in the luggage of unsuspecting passengers at motor parks. The operation began after officers intercepted a methamphetamine consignment aboard a commercial bus travelling from Nnewi to Abuja. Initial investigations led to the arrest of a woman wrongly linked to the package before further intelligence exposed the actual owner, Onyebuchi Victor Okoye, and implicated the bus driver and a loader in the scheme. The recovered methamphetamine weighed 467.7 grams.
In a separate operation in Lagos, NDLEA arrested 57-year-old Ikechukwu Uwakwe with 209.5 kilograms of Scottish Loud, another strong strain of cannabis, at Iddo Motor Park while the consignment was being transported to Enugu.
The agency also arrested two Beninese nationals, Hossou Tito Julien and Mancellim Dossou, alongside Nigerian suspect Jackson ThankGod after intercepting a truck carrying 558,900 pills of Tramadol 250mg concealed in a fabricated compartment. The truck was stopped on Mile 2 Bridge while transporting the illicit consignment from Togo through the Benin Republic into Nigeria.
Elsewhere, Lucky Abonga and Osas Azamobo were apprehended along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway while conveying 118 kilograms of skunk to Onitsha. In Amukoko, Lagos, Helen Ese Idiji and Rashidat Sa’adullah were arrested with 28.8 kilograms of skunk, with investigations indicating that the drugs were stored for distribution.
Beyond enforcement operations, NDLEA continued its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation campaign across schools and communities in Yobe, Lagos, Kano, Kogi and Enugu states.
Commending officers involved in the arrests and seizures, NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), praised their efforts in reducing drug trafficking while sustaining public awareness campaigns against drug abuse.
