A 34-year-old Ugandan woman, Ms. Farida Nansubuga, has been arrested by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, with 87 wraps of cocaine weighing 1.15 kilogrammes concealed around her pelvic region. She allegedly attempted to smuggle the drugs into Uganda. The arrest was made on Tuesday, November 3, 2026, at the screening point of Terminal 2 while she was preparing to board a Ugandan airline flight to her home country.
According to the NDLEA, the arrest followed a joint passenger screening exercise involving its operatives and aviation security personnel. A body search raised suspicion of a substance concealed around her pelvic region, prompting her transfer to a designated private search room for further examination. The secondary search led to the recovery of 87 wraps of cocaine weighing 1.15 kilogrammes, strapped around her pelvic region and secured beneath two layers of underwear.
During preliminary interrogation, Nansubuga reportedly said she arrived in Nigeria on October 29 with members of her church for a prayer session at The Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN), in the Ikotun-Egbe area of Lagos. She claimed that after the prayer session, other members of her delegation returned to Uganda while she remained behind to collect the consignment on behalf of a friend identified simply as Joy, who lives in Uganda.
Nansubuga alleged that Joy directed her to a contact in Nigeria, who arranged transportation to a hotel on the morning of her scheduled departure. She claimed that the man handed her the cocaine at the hotel and instructed her to conceal it beneath her clothing to evade airport security screening. Although no specific payment was agreed upon, Nansubuga reportedly said she expected to receive at least $1,000 upon successfully delivering the consignment in Uganda.
In another major operation at the Lagos airport, NDLEA operatives intercepted 750,000 tablets of Tapentadol 250mg, weighing 526 kilogrammes and estimated to have a street value of ₦900 million. The consignment, which originated from India, was falsely declared as Paracetamol Tablets 500mg and arrived at the airport’s import shed on November 3 aboard an Ethiopian Airlines flight from Ahmedabad.
The NDLEA also uncovered a syndicate allegedly involved in importing chemicals used in the production of Colorado, a synthetic cannabis, from the United Kingdom. The breakthrough followed the interception of nine parcels of illicit substances concealed inside two cartons of snacks bearing the inscription “Michael Tea Guy”. The consignment arrived aboard an Air Peace flight from the UK on Friday, October 23.
Nationwide operations by the NDLEA have resulted in multiple arrests and seizures of illicit drugs, while the agency intensifies its War Against Drug Abuse sensitisation campaign. The NDLEA's efforts aim to curb the smuggling and distribution of illicit substances in Nigeria and beyond.
Key points
- The NDLEA arrested a 34-year-old Ugandan woman with 87 wraps of cocaine concealed around her pelvic region at Lagos' Murtala Muhammed International Airport.
- The agency also intercepted 750,000 tablets of Tapentadol 250mg, worth ₦900 million, falsely declared as paracetamol, in a shipment from India.
- The NDLEA uncovered a syndicate importing chemicals used in the production of synthetic cannabis from the United Kingdom.
