Cocaine Bust: Two Europe-Based Nigerians Excrete 3.46kg Of Drugs After Airport Arrest

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested two Europe-based Nigerian businessmen at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja after they were allegedly caught attempting to smuggle cocaine to Paris, France, by ingesting the illicit substance.

The suspects, identified as Aliocus Godian Odife and Sam Blackborn, were intercepted on Wednesday, October 28, 2026, during the outward clearance of passengers boarding Air France flight AF 832 from Abuja to Paris.

According to Bush Radio Academy, the NDLEA disclosed that the two men excreted a combined total of 200 cocaine wraps weighing 3.460 kilogrammes while under observation by agency officials.

Odife, who reportedly resides in France and works in a factory, had travelled to Nigeria on October 21 for a short holiday. However, he was arrested while preparing to return to Europe after a body scan conducted by NDLEA operatives indicated the presence of foreign objects in his stomach.

During questioning, he reportedly admitted to swallowing 110 cocaine pellets. He was subsequently placed under observation and excreted all 110 wraps, which tested positive for cocaine and weighed 1.901 kilogrammes.

His co-traveller, Blackborn, was also intercepted at the airport after a body scan revealed that he had ingested illicit substances. He reportedly confessed to swallowing 90 cocaine pellets and later excreted all of them under observation. The recovered wraps tested positive for cocaine and weighed 1.559 kilogrammes.

The agency said the arrests formed part of a series of operations conducted across several states, leading to the seizure of large quantities of illicit drugs and the arrest of numerous suspects.

In Lagos State, NDLEA operatives acting on intelligence about the movement of skunk, a potent strain of cannabis, from the Island to the Mainland intercepted a white Volkswagen LT 28 bus along Kudirat Abiola Way, Ikeja, on Sunday, October 25. A total of 537 kilogrammes of the substance was recovered.

On the same day, another team intercepted a brown J5 bus along the Gbagada-Oshodi Expressway, recovering an additional 439 kilogrammes of skunk.

In Oyo State, two suspects, Oguntona Nasiru, 46, and Soji Balogun, 47, were arrested on Thursday, October 29, while allegedly loading 554 kilogrammes of skunk into a Volvo truck along Idere Road in Igboora.

The operation was reportedly part of an effort to apprehend a suspected drug dealer known as Omo Oba, who escaped arrest during an earlier operation on October 25. During that previous raid, officers seized 309.5 kilogrammes of a potent cannabis strain popularly known as Ghanaian Loud, allegedly linked to the fugitive suspect.

In Kano State, NDLEA operatives raided a location in the Tsamiya area of Gezawa on October 26, recovering 247,500 tablets of diazepam weighing 57.7 kilogrammes and 100,000 tablets of Exol-5 weighing 38.7 kilogrammes.

Two days later, officers arrested Ziya’ulhaq Abdullahi, 35, and Garba Muhammed, 52, in the Dorayi area, where they recovered 19,250 tablets of tramadol 225mg weighing 13.6 kilogrammes.

The agency also reported the arrest of Aisha Isah, a woman intercepted at a toll gate along the Abuja-Kaduna Expressway with 266 rounds of live AK-47 ammunition.

Along the Zaria-Kano Expressway, a 68-year-old man, Ifeanyi Egwolonwu, was arrested at Gwargwaje in Zaria. Items recovered from him included 2,770 ampoules of pentazocine injection, 100 ampoules of diazepam injection, 11,000 diazepam tablets and 4,500 Exol-5 tablets.

Another operation in the Tashan Banke area resulted in the arrest of seven suspects, including Faisal Adamu, with officers recovering 178.85 kilogrammes of cannabis alongside quantities of diazepam, tramadol, Exol-5 and pregabalin.

In Ondo State, operatives raided cannabis farms in Ijare Forest on October 25 following credible intelligence. Four suspects were arrested, including Bassey Okon, 24, Abraham Edet, 20, and Oto Udo, 24. Officers also recovered 16 bags of processed cannabis weighing 180 kilogrammes.

Similarly, an operation conducted with military support at Eko Camp in Ilushi, Esan South-East Local Government Area of Edo State, on October 28 led to the destruction of a cannabis plantation covering 1.646 hectares, with an estimated yield of 4,115.53 kilogrammes.

During the operation, a 50-year-old woman, Christiana Uboi, was arrested with 301 kilogrammes of processed cannabis, while another 176 kilogrammes was recovered from the area.

In Sokoto State, operatives of the NDLEA Zone 7 Command arrested a 68-year-old man, Ibrahim Ayuba, on October 31 after allegedly recovering 236.6 kilogrammes of skunk from him.

Beyond its enforcement operations, the agency also sustained its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) awareness campaign across the country, organising sensitisation programmes in schools, religious centres, workplaces and communities.

Some of the institutions visited during the campaign included Obawole Grammar School II in Ojodu, Lagos; Nsukka High School in Enugu State; Government Technical College, Dorayi Babba Rijiyar Zaki, in Kano State; and Ajagbe Comprehensive High School in Iperu, Ogun State.

NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), commended officers of the agency’s commands at the Abuja airport, Lagos, Kano, Kaduna, Sokoto, Ondo, Oyo and Edo for their efforts in the various operations.

Reacting to the arrest of the two suspected cocaine couriers, Marwa warned that Nigerians living abroad should not assume that their foreign residence would shield them from drug trafficking investigations or prosecution.

He maintained that NDLEA officers stationed at the country’s entry and exit points remained vigilant and would continue to disrupt attempts to transport illicit substances across Nigerian borders.

Marwa further cautioned individuals against risking their lives and freedom by ingesting illegal drugs in exchange for financial rewards.

He urged officers and personnel nationwide to sustain the agency’s campaign against drug trafficking networks while intensifying efforts to reduce drug abuse through continuous public awareness programmes in schools, religious institutions, workplaces and communities.