Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a 25-year-old newlywed businessman, Lovely Chukwulobelu, at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport (AIIA), Enugu, for allegedly attempting to traffic 72 wraps of cocaine concealed in his stomach to Portugal. Chukwulobelu was intercepted at the airport’s departure hall on Thursday, September 25, 2026, while attempting to board an Ethiopian Airlines flight to Lisbon, Portugal, via Addis Ababa.
Chukwulobelu was subsequently placed under excretion observation, during which he excreted a total of 72 wraps of the Class A drug. The suspect reportedly told NDLEA operatives that he operated a car decoration business at the Trade Fair Complex, Ojo, Lagos, before relocating to Portugal in May 2023. He said he returned to Nigeria to get married on September 13, 2026, and allegedly ventured into drug trafficking to offset expenses incurred during his wedding.
Meanwhile, at the import shed of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, NDLEA operatives, on Tuesday, September 22, uncovered one of the agency’s largest opioid seizures of the year during a joint examination of three monitored consignments. The consignments contained 2,550,000 pills of Tramaking 225mg, Tramaking 250mg and Royal Tapentadol 250mg, with a combined gross weight of 1,640.55kg.
The consignments, imported from India and Bangladesh, arrived in Nigeria through Qatar Airways, RwandAir and Ethiopian Airlines. NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Marwa (retd.), commended officers of the MMIA, AIIA, Lagos, Oyo, Edo, Seme and Bauchi commands for the operations. Marwa urged the officers to remain committed to the agency’s balanced approach to drug control, combining enforcement with drug abuse prevention and public sensitisation.
In Bauchi State, NDLEA operatives arrested two suspects, Umar Hamidu, 35, and Abdulkarim Salihu, 45, along the Maiduguri bypass with 300 compressed blocks of skunk weighing 262.5kg. The consignment was allegedly concealed in the false bottom of a truck. Similarly, NDLEA officers, backed by soldiers, destroyed two cannabis farms with a combined estimated yield of 1,360.23kg at Eko Camp, Ilushi, Edo State, on Wednesday, September 23.
In Lagos, two women, Odumabo Kehinde, 36, and Obiekwe Chioma, 40, were arrested on Saturday, September 26, during a raid on Anifowoshe Street, Mushin, where 3.4kg of skunk was recovered. In a separate operation the same day, NDLEA operatives intercepted a 58-year-old man, Ugwu Johnson, at Ebute-Ero motor park, recovering 5.92kg of skunk, 2,400 ampoules of pentazocine injection, 8,400 tablets of nitrazepam and 40,000 tablets of tramadol.
Beyond the enforcement operations, NDLEA commands nationwide continued their War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation campaigns in schools, worship centres, workplaces and communities. The activities included lectures at Community High School, Saki, Oyo State; Auchi College, Edo State; Alkali Modibbo Islamic Centre, Dukku, Gombe State; and Junior Arabic Secondary School, Kahu, Kibiya Local Government Area of Kano State.
Key points
- NDLEA operatives arrested a 25-year-old groom at Enugu airport for attempting to traffic 72 wraps of cocaine to Portugal.
- NDLEA seized 2,550,000 pills of opioid in Lagos, one of the agency’s largest seizures of the year.
- NDLEA continued its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation campaigns nationwide.
