China-bound Nigerian businessman held after ingesting 95 cocaine pellets

By Zainab Uzomah | Abuja

A 62-year-old Lagos businessman has been arrested at Kano’s Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport for allegedly ingesting 95 pellets of cocaine while attempting to board a flight to China. The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) said Nwabueze Nicholas Izueke tested positive for drug ingestion during a routine scan and later expelled 1.589kg of cocaine during monitored excretions.

According to the statement signed by NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi, Izueke told investigators he turned to drug trafficking to raise money to complete his house in Enugu State. He had been travelling via Addis Ababa on an Ethiopian Airlines flight when he was intercepted on 31 January.

In a series of separate operations, the NDLEA said its officers seized 627.7kg of cannabis from a warehouse in Kubwa, Abuja, and intercepted parcels of methamphetamine hidden inside Mp3 speakers en route from Enugu to Abuja and Kaduna. Follow-up raids led to the arrest of four suspects and the recovery of additional meth consignments weighing 173g and 28g.

At a patrol point in Taraba State, officers also recovered 1.8kg of methamphetamine concealed inside packs of Hollandia yoghurt allegedly transported by a 32-year-old suspect travelling from Lagos to Adamawa. In Oyo State, multiple arrests were made, including that of a Beninese suspect found with nearly 150kg of cannabis concealed in rice shafts, and another suspect in Ibadan with over 10,000 ampoules of pentazocine and more than 117,000 tramadol capsules.

The agency also reported shutting down a synthetic cannabis (“Colorado”) production facility in Ibadan, where a suspected drug kingpin and his accomplice were arrested with chemicals, drugs and cash totalling ₦7.4m, alongside two vehicles. Elsewhere in Kwara State, a fuel tanker heading to Maiduguri was found to contain more than 395,000 tramadol capsules hidden within the truck.

Further seizures included 203kg of cannabis recovered from a couple in Imo State, 420kg of cannabis discovered in a bush in Ondo State, and 31 wraps of cocaine found in the handbag of a boat passenger arriving in Badagry from Côte d’Ivoire. Additional arrests were made in Lagos and Enugu, where officers recovered quantities of skunk, methamphetamine, cocaine, molly and cash.

The NDLEA said its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) awareness campaigns continued nationwide, with sensitisation programmes held in schools, communities and religious centres. NDLEA chairman Brig Gen Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd) commended officers across the various commands for what he described as consistent professionalism and commitment in combating drug trafficking.