Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a Brazil-based businessman, Abugu Oliver Ikechukwu, for attempting to import shirts and towels impregnated with 6.10 kilograms of liquid cocaine from the South American country into Nigeria.
Ikechukwu, 41, was arrested at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos, upon his arrival from Brazil via Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, aboard an Ethiopian Airlines flight on Thursday, June 11, 2026.
The Director of Media and Advocacy at NDLEA, Femi Babafemi, disclosed this in a statement made available to ThelensNG on Sunday.
Babafemi revealed that a thorough search of Ikechukwu’s luggage led to the recovery of 14 towels and shirts, all soaked in liquid cocaine, dried, and neatly ironed.
“In his statement, the suspect claimed that he has lived in Brazil for over 14 years, where he runs an African restaurant. He added that he came to Nigeria to see his wife and buy foodstuffs in bulk for his restaurant,” he said.
In another operation, two persons living with disabilities, Chidimma Sunday, 60, and Abubakar Usman, 28, were taken into NDLEA custody in Abia and Rivers States, respectively, following their involvement in the illicit drug trade.
While Chidimma was apprehended with 1.8kg of skunk by the Umuosu Vigilante Group in Umuna Autonomous Community, Isiala Ngwa North Local Government Area of Abia State, and handed over to the NDLEA on June 10, Usman was arrested at Rumuokoro, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, with 400 grams of skunk, 5 grams of methamphetamine, 100 grams of tramadol, 5 grams of swinol, and 18 grams of diazepam during a raid by NDLEA officers on June 9.
Elsewhere in Delta State, NDLEA operatives arrested a suspect, Onya Jude, 36, in possession of five gas cylinders used to conceal 2.8 kilograms of Loud (a potent strain of cannabis) at Ogwashi-Uku, Aniocha South Local Government Area of the state, on June 8.
This was followed by the arrest of two notorious dealers, Jamilu Idris (a.k.a. Jama), 40, and Aminu Abdullahi (a.k.a. Momo), 33, at Kasuwan Katako, Gombe State. They were caught with three large blocks of skunk weighing 2.738kg at the time of their arrest by NDLEA operatives.
While Ngozi Gaius, 39, was nabbed along the Zaria-Kano Road in Kano State on June 12 conveying 6,000 pills of tramadol 225mg, two suspects, Nasiru Hamza, 47, and Muhammad Sani, 38, were intercepted by NDLEA operatives on patrol along Bode Saadu Road, Kwara State, on June 9 while transporting 600 compressed blocks of skunk weighing 304kg in a black Toyota jeep with the registration number PJHR 783.
In Taraba State, NDLEA officers acting on credible intelligence raided the warehouse of a notorious dealer, Ali Adamu, 45, at Maihula Village, Bali Local Government Area, on June 13, where 63 jumbo bags of cannabis sativa weighing 1,121.5 kilograms were recovered. On the same day, operatives on patrol along the Gwagwalada Expressway in the FCT, Abuja, arrested Emmanuel Nnadi, 46, and seized assorted illicit substances from him, including 30,400 pills of tramadol (225mg and 100mg), 750 pills of pregabalin 300mg, 200 pills of molly, and 592 bottles of codeine-based syrup.
A large consignment of Ghana Loud (a strain of cannabis) weighing 1,102 kilograms was also recovered around Alaba International Market in the Ojo area of Lagos on June 13.
In the same vein, the Agency’s Commands and formations across the country continued their War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation activities in schools, places of worship, workplaces, communities, and other places during the past week.
The activities included WADA enlightenment lectures for students and staff of Government Science School, Lafia, Nasarawa State; Community Secondary School, Imufu, Enugu-Ezike, Enugu State; Araromi Junior Secondary School, Adekunle Sari-Iganmu, Ijora, Lagos State; traditional leaders in Minjibir Local Government Area, Kano State; and St. Charles College, Onitsha, Anambra State.
The Rivers State Command of NDLEA also paid a WADA advocacy visit to His Royal Majesty, Eze Onyekachi Amaonwu, Paramount Ruler of the Eberi Omuma Kingdom.
Commenting on the arrests and seizures, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd.), commended the officers of the MMIA, Abia, Rivers, Kano, Kwara, Delta, Gombe, Lagos, and FCT Commands for their professionalism and commitment.
Marwa noted that their drug supply reduction efforts were effectively balanced with WADA sensitisation activities and urged them, along with their counterparts across the country, to continue surpassing their previous records.
