NDLEA Cracks Down on N12.4 Billion Drug Syndicate, Nabs China-Bound Businesswoman in Lagos Mega Bust

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intensified its nationwide crackdown on drug trafficking, achieving significant successes in recent operations across Lagos, Abuja, and Anambra states. These sweeping operations resulted in major arrests, the seizure of large consignments of illicit drugs, and the dismantling of sophisticated drug syndicates, reaffirming the agency's commitment to combating the drug trade.

A notable arrest involved 38-year-old businesswoman, Iwebema Ogechi Peace, who was apprehended on Sunday, June 21, at Terminal 2 of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos. She was attempting to board a Qatar Airways flight to Beijing, China. Acting on credible intelligence, NDLEA operatives searched her checked luggage, uncovering four large parcels of cocaine weighing a combined 7.5 kilogrammes. The Class A drug was professionally concealed in a false bottom of her suitcase. During interrogation, Ms. Peace reportedly claimed to regularly travel to China to purchase goods for sale in Nigeria.

In one of the agency's largest cannabis seizures this year, NDLEA operatives intercepted 4,959 kilogrammes of Canadian Loud, a potent strain of cannabis, at the Apapa Port Complex in Lagos. The illicit consignment, estimated to have a street value of over N12.4 billion, was recovered during a joint examination involving the NDLEA Apapa Strategic Command, the Nigeria Customs Service, and other security agencies. This interdiction followed more than four weeks of intelligence-led surveillance, tracking the 40-foot container since its departure from Toronto, Canada, on April 25. The container, which also carried Ford and Nissan vehicles, passed through Montreal, Morocco, and Tincan Port before its final interception at Apapa Port.

Furthermore, NDLEA operatives in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja, in a joint operation with their colleagues in Anambra State, successfully dismantled a criminal syndicate that specialized in planting illicit drugs in the luggage of unsuspecting commercial transport passengers. This breakthrough followed the interception of a Sienna bus traveling from Nnewi, Anambra State, to Abuja at Abaji, FCT, on Saturday, June 20. A search of the bus revealed a waybill package containing 467.7 grammes of methamphetamine, concealed inside a black nylon bag and placed within a sack of clothes. A follow-up operation led to the arrest of the intended recipient, Gloria Peter, at Utako motor park, who vehemently denied knowledge and ownership of the package. Further investigations traced the operation back to Nnewi, where a bus loader confessed to placing the drug package into the woman's bag on the directive of the bus driver, Abdurrazak Isah. The driver subsequently identified one of his passengers, Onyebuchi Victor Okoye, as the actual owner of the illicit consignment, leading to Mr. Okoye’s arrest in Abuja.

Other significant operations included the arrest of two Benin Republic nationals, Hossou Tito Julien (30) and Mancellim Dossou (19), alongside Nigerian suspect Jackson ThankGod, at Mile 2, Lagos. They were found transporting 558,900 pills of Tramadol 250mg, hidden in a specially fabricated compartment beneath a truck, from Togo through the Benin Republic into Nigeria. Additionally, 57-year-old Ikechukwu Uwakwe was arrested at Iddo Motor Park in Lagos with 209.5 kilogrammes of Scottish Loud destined for Enugu State. On the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Lucky Abonga and Osas Azamobo were apprehended while transporting 118 kilogrammes of skunk concealed among legitimate goods. In the Amukoko area of Lagos, officers arrested Helen Ese Idiji (40) and Rashidat Sa’adullah (53), recovering 28.8 kilogrammes of skunk, with Ms. Sa’adullah's residence allegedly used as a storage point for distribution.

NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd), commended the operatives for their string of successful operations, praising their aggressive drug supply reduction efforts. He urged them to maintain the momentum in the ongoing fight against transnational drug cartels, emphasizing the importance of balancing enforcement with public sensitisation through the nationwide War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) campaign. The WADA campaign continues to conduct sensitisation programmes in schools, places of worship, workplaces, and communities across various states, including Yobe, Lagos, Kano, Kogi, and Enugu, as part of efforts to reduce drug demand.