NDLEA Storms Nationwide: Brazil Returnees, Lagos Businesswoman Nabbed In Mega Drug Bust

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has recorded major breakthroughs in its ongoing war against drug trafficking, arresting two Brazil returnees who ingested heroin and cocaine, alongside multiple seizures spanning Lagos, Zamfara, Adamawa, and Edo States.

In a statement issued on Sunday, September 21, 2025, and signed by Femi Babafemi, Director of Media and Advocacy at NDLEA Headquarters, Abuja, the agency confirmed that the arrests were made at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, as well as through coordinated operations across several states.

One of the suspects, 46-year-old Ofoma Sunday, was intercepted on September 16 after arriving from Brazil via Ethiopia. A body scan revealed he had ingested illicit substances. Under observation, he excreted 111 wraps of heroin weighing 1.45 kilograms. Acting on intelligence, operatives raided a hotel in Amuwo Odofin, where he was meant to deliver the consignment, and arrested 55-year-old Nweke Jude Chuckwudi, the alleged receiver.

Just three days later, another returnee, Ukachukwu Frank Ikechukwu, was apprehended on September 19. He expelled five large wraps of cocaine weighing 145 grams. He admitted to swallowing nine wraps in Brazil but reinserted only seven after suffering anal pain while transiting Ethiopia, discarding two in a toilet before boarding his flight.

In another operation at Lagos airport, 41-year-old Okolonkwo Ebere Theresa, a businesswoman from Enugu, was arrested on September 14 while attempting to board a Qatar Airways flight to Doha. She had concealed 1.40 kilograms of methamphetamine in her butt pad underwear. She later confessed that, despite running a thrift clothing trade and POS business, she was lured into the trafficking scheme.

NDLEA operatives also intercepted drug shipments cleverly disguised as everyday goods. At the NAHCO export shed, 2.3 kilograms of methamphetamine hidden in food items bound for Hong Kong were recovered, while a separate consignment of 257 grams of cocaine concealed in seven phone chargers was stopped en route to New Zealand.

The crackdown extended nationwide. In Adamawa, officers recovered 233,800 pills of tramadol from various raids, including an abandoned vehicle packed with the substances. In Zamfara, a truck conveying over one ton of skunk cannabis was seized, while in Edo, operatives destroyed two cannabis farms covering more than four hectares, yielding over 11,000 kilograms of illegal plants.

Commending the operatives, NDLEA Chairman/Chief Executive, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), described the operations as a milestone in the agency’s mission.
“These arrests and seizures mark a critical step in dismantling drug trafficking syndicates targeting Nigeria’s youth and tarnishing the nation’s global image. We will remain relentless until these criminals can no longer inflict harm on our communities,” Marwa stated.

The NDLEA further disclosed that its nationwide War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) campaign continued during the week, with sensitisation programmes held in schools, religious centres, workplaces, and communities.