Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a Brazil-based Nigerian businessman, Uche Franklin Onyekwere, at the arrival hall of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, for allegedly concealing parcels of cocaine in his private parts and the soles of his footwear.
Onyekwere, 47, was apprehended on January 29, 2026, during the inward clearance of South African Airways passengers arriving from Brazil via Johannesburg. According to a statement issued on Sunday by the NDLEA spokesman, Mr Femi Babafemi, the arrest followed processed intelligence that singled out the suspect for close monitoring.
A full body scan conducted on the suspect confirmed the presence of illicit substances, after which he was subjected to a strip search. During the search, a large parcel of a white powdery substance, later confirmed to be cocaine, was found wrapped around his right thigh.
further search revealed two additional wraps of the same substance concealed in the sole of a pair of flat shoes worn by the suspect. In all, three large wraps of cocaine, with a gross weight of 1.60 kilograms, were recovered from his body and footwear.
During a preliminary interview, the suspect revealed that he purchased the illicit drug consignment in Brazil with the intention of reselling it in Nigeria to raise capital to boost his business and finance the naming ceremony of his newborn child.
The suspect, who lives at Rua Ever, Mulariuha, São Paulo, claimed he has been residing in Brazil since 2008 and has been operating a toy business for about nine years.
At the Tin Can Seaport in Lagos, a total of 55 jumbo bags of Canadian Loud, a strong strain of cannabis with a gross weight of 1,183 kilograms, imported from Montreal, Canada, were discovered in a container on 28 January during a joint examination by NDLEA officers, Customs, and other security agencies. The illicit consignments were hidden inside two vehicles: a Hyundai SUV and a Toyota Matrix.
In Niger State, Babafemi said NDLEA operatives, acting on credible intelligence in the early hours of 26 January, intercepted a long truck marked T 31589 LA along the Dei-Dei–Abuja Expressway, where they arrested three suspects — Andy Chidogu, Kenneth Ogene, and Sadiq Olanrewaju — for conveying 176 bags of skunk, a strain of cannabis weighing 2,735 kilograms, and one kilogram of Colorado, a synthetic cannabis, concealed in the truck.
Investigations revealed that Kenneth Ogene, who drove the truck, left Lagos on 23 January loaded with 800 bags of flour for Ekpoma, Edo State, and arrived the following day. In Ekpoma, he negotiated to transport the 176 bags of skunk and one kilogram of Colorado for ₦1.7 million.
In another interdiction operation, NDLEA operatives in Edo State on 27 January arrested Shaibu Yusuf along the Auchi–Abuja Expressway while he was seeking a vehicle to transport 66 bags of skunk concealed in bags of charcoal, weighing 792 kilograms, to Katsina State.
Also in Edo State, NDLEA operatives, supported by personnel of the Nigerian Army, on 28 January raided a cannabis farm at Ebora Camp, Ilushi, in Esan South-East Local Government Area, where 4,063.675 kilograms of skunk were destroyed on over 1.6 hectares of farmland, while 328 kilograms of processed cannabis and seeds were recovered. Suspects arrested at the camp include Jeremiah Nwodeh Chukwudi Pius, Pius Ogaba, and Onora Kwene.
In Anambra State, NDLEA operatives on 28 January intercepted a cement truck at Upper Iweka, Onitsha, heading to Nkpor. A search of the trailer revealed that bags of cement were used to conceal 345.2 kilograms of skunk owned by Abum Okeke, one of the three occupants of the truck at the time of arrest.
At least two suspects, Tunde Ogundele and Soji Elegbelye, were arrested on 26 January at Eleyewo community in Akure North Local Government Area of Ondo State in connection with the seizure of 473 kilograms of skunk. On the same day, NDLEA operatives in Kano arrested Abdullahi Usman along Murtala Mohammed Way with 12,500 ampoules of pentazocine injection recovered from him.
Not less than 4,390 pills of tramadol were seized from another suspect, Musa Shuaibu, when he was arrested in the Gaya area of Kano on 27 January.
While Oragwan Ekene was arrested on Friday at Okeyson Park, Alaba, Lagos, with 15.5 kilograms of skunk heading to Onitsha, Anambra State, 3.5 kilograms of the same psychoactive substance were recovered from a sound system and two packets of cereal found in the luggage of Omang Peter Edward at the arrival tarmac of the Seme Border, Badagry, on 27 January. The suspect was coming from Cotonou, Benin Republic, into Lagos.
Across various commands and formations nationwide, NDLEA officers sustained their War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation campaigns over the past week, reaching schools, places of worship, workplaces, communities, and other public spaces.
Commending the officers for their professionalism, arrests, and seizures, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Marwa (Rtd), urged them and their colleagues across the country to maintain the current balanced strategy of reducing both drug supply and drug demand.
