Europe-Bound Groom Excretes 72 Cocaine Wraps at Enugu Airport

By Zainab Uzomah

A 25-year-old newlywed businessman, Lovely Chukwulobelu, has been arrested by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport (AIIA), Enugu, for allegedly ingesting 72 wraps of cocaine in a bid to smuggle the drug to Portugal.

According to a statement signed by Femi Babafemi, Director, Media and Advocacy, NDLEA Headquarters, Abuja, on Sunday, the suspect was intercepted at the departure hall of the Enugu airport on Thursday, September 25, 2026, while attempting to board an Ethiopian Airlines flight to Portugal via Addis Ababa.

The NDLEA said Chukwulobelu, who had his wedding ring on when he was arrested, was subsequently placed under excretion observation and expelled all 72 wraps of the Class A illicit drug.The suspect reportedly told investigators that he was previously involved in car decoration business at the Trade Fair Complex, Ojo area of Lagos, before relocating to Portugal in May 2023.

He returned to Nigeria recently and got married on September 13, but allegedly resorted to drug trafficking to offset expenses incurred during his wedding.The arrest was among a series of operations conducted by NDLEA operatives across Lagos, Oyo, Edo, Bauchi and other locations, resulting in the seizure of large quantities of illicit drugs.

At the import shed of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, NDLEA operatives on Tuesday, September 22, recovered 2,550,000 pills of Tramaking 225mg, Tramaking 250mg and Royal Tapentadol 250mg from three monitored consignments.The agency said the opioid consignments, imported from India and Bangladesh through Qatar Airways, RwandAir and Ethiopian Airlines, had a combined gross weight of 1,640.55kg.

In Bauchi State, operatives arrested Umar Hamidu, 35, and Abdulkarim Salihu, 45, along the Maiduguri bypass with 300 compressed blocks of skunk weighing 262.5kg.The cannabis was concealed in a false compartment of a truck marked MUB757 YH.

In Edo State, two cannabis farms with a combined estimated yield of 1,360.23kg were destroyed at Eko Camp, Ilushi, with the support of soldiers.In Lagos, two women, Odumabo Kehinde, 36, and Obiekwe Chioma, 40, were arrested during a raid on Anifowoshe Street, Mushin, where 3.4kg of skunk was recovered.

Another suspect, 58-year-old Ugwu Johnson, was intercepted at Ebute-Ero motor park with 5.920kg of skunk, 2,400 ampoules of pentazocine injection, 8,400 tablets of nitrazepam and 40,000 pills of tramadol. In Oyo State, two Togolese nationals, Yinusa Abdulsamad, 35, and Fatai Baba, 33, were arrested along the Iganna-Ilero road with 305.6kg of skunk allegedly concealed in two pickup vans.

The NDLEA said the suspects were involved in a cross-border trafficking operation moving Ghana-sourced cannabis into Nigeria through the Oyo axis.At the Seme border in Badagry, Lagos, five suspects were also arrested with 420 cartons of nitrous oxide, popularly known as laughing gas, weighing 1,688.4kg. The suspects were identified as Kingsley John, 40; John Chibuike Okeke, 44; Lamidi Ismaila, 40; Babatunde Samuel, 42; and Afeesu Idowu, 47.

Two vehicles allegedly used to convey the consignment from the border into Lagos were also recovered.Meanwhile, NDLEA commands and formations across the country continued their War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation campaigns in schools, worship centres, workplaces and communities.

The agency said the campaigns included engagements at Community High School, Saki, Oyo State; Auchi College, Auchi, Edo State; Alkali Modibbo Islamic Centre, Dukku, Gombe State; and Junior Arabic Secondary School, Kahu, Kibiya LGA, Kano State.

The Delta Ports Command also paid a WADA advocacy visit to His Royal Majesty, Ogiame Atuwatshe III, the Olu of Warri, Delta State.Commending the officers and men involved in the operations, NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd), urged personnel across the country to sustain the agency’s balanced approach to drug control.