The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested two Nigerians living in Europe for allegedly ingesting 200 wraps of cocaine weighing 3.46 kilogrammes at Abuja's Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport. The suspects were intercepted on October 28 during the outward clearance of an Air France flight to Paris. According to NDLEA spokesman Femi Babafemi, the men tested positive for drug ingestion during body scans and subsequently excreted all the cocaine under medical observation.
One of the suspects, who lives and works in a factory in France, had arrived in Nigeria on October 21 for a short holiday. He admitted to ingesting 110 wraps of cocaine, weighing 1.901 kilogrammes after recovery. His co-traveller confessed to swallowing 90 wraps, which weighed 1.559 kilogrammes after they were excreted. The NDLEA did not disclose the suspects' identities.
The arrests were part of a series of anti-drug operations conducted by the NDLEA across several states. In Lagos, operatives intercepted two commercial buses carrying 976 kilogrammes of cannabis, commonly known as skunk. The seizures occurred on October 25, with 537 kilogrammes recovered from a Volkswagen LT 28 bus along Kudirat Abiola Way, Ikeja, and another 439 kilogrammes from a J5 bus along the Gbagada-Oshodi Expressway.
In Oyo State, two men were arrested on October 29 while allegedly loading 554 kilogrammes of cannabis into a Volvo truck along Idere Road, Igboora. Meanwhile, in Kano, NDLEA operatives recovered 247,500 tablets of diazepam and 100,000 tablets of Exol-5 during a raid in Tsamiya, Gezawa. Two suspects were subsequently arrested in Dorayi with 19,250 tramadol 225mg pills.
The NDLEA also reported the arrest of a woman carrying 266 rounds of live AK-47 ammunition along the Abuja-Kaduna Expressway. In another operation, a 68-year-old man was arrested at Gwargwaje, Zaria, with thousands of ampoules and tablets of controlled medicines, including pentazocine and diazepam. These operations resulted in additional arrests and cannabis seizures in Kano, Ondo, Edo, and Sokoto.
In Edo, a cannabis plantation covering 1.646 hectares was destroyed at Eko Camp in Ilushi, Esan South-East Local Government Area. The agency estimated its potential yield at 4,115.53 kilogrammes. NDLEA chairman Mohamed Buba Marwa warned Nigerians living abroad against using their foreign residence as a cover for drug trafficking.
Marwa commended officers involved in the operations across the affected states and urged them to sustain enforcement efforts alongside drug prevention campaigns under the agency's War Against Drug Abuse initiative. The NDLEA's vigilance at the country's entry and exit points has led to several successful interceptions, including the recent arrest of the two Nigerians who ingested cocaine wraps.
Key points
- NDLEA arrests two Nigerians for ingesting 200 cocaine wraps weighing 3.46kg at Abuja airport
- Agency conducts series of anti-drug operations across several states, resulting in seizures and arrests
- NDLEA chairman warns Nigerians living abroad against using foreign residence for drug trafficking
