By OPERATIVES of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a 42-year-old Angolan businessman, Mbala Dajou Abuba, at Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport (MAKIA), Kano, for attempting to traffic a large consignment of cocaine, which he had ingested, to Istanbul, Turkey.
Mbala
Abuba, from Zaire Province in Angola, was apprehended on Tuesday, 25th February 2025, at the airport’s screening point while attempting to board Egypt Air flight MS 880 to Istanbul via Cairo. A body scan confirmed he had ingested illicit drugs, leading to his placement under excretion observation. He later expelled 120 pellets of cocaine, weighing 1.829 kilograms, in seven excretions. In his statement, the suspect claimed he was previously engaged in township delivery services in Angola before turning to drug trafficking.
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Other Drug Interceptions Across the Country
In a similar operation, NDLEA operatives thwarted an attempt by an auto spare parts dealer, Okeke Ebuka Igwe, to smuggle 1.10kg of cocaine concealed in vehicle propellers to Angola. He was arrested on Monday, 24th February, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos, following credible intelligence. The suspect claimed he operated a business at ASPANDA, Trade Fair Complex, Ojo, Lagos.
Igwe
Another suspect, Ezechi Iyke Cyprian, was arrested while attempting to transport 5.40kg of cocaine to Owerri, Imo State, in his Toyota Sienna bus on Sunday, 23rd February. NDLEA’s special operations unit apprehended him after weeks of surveillance and intelligence gathering.
At the Tincan seaport in Lagos, NDLEA operatives, in collaboration with Customs and other security agencies, discovered 128 parcels of Canadian Loud—a potent strain of cannabis—hidden in two mattresses inside a Toyota Venza imported from Canada. The 63.75kg consignment was found on Friday, 28th February, during a joint inspection of a targeted container marked TCNU 1945861 from Montreal, Canada. The consignee, 44-year-old Bamidele Joseph, has been arrested.
Suspect
Massive Drug Seizures in Delta and Edo
In Delta State, NDLEA operatives, with military support, raided a forest in the Innam-Abbi/Orogun community, Ndokwa West Local Government Area, on Thursday, 27th February. They destroyed over 50,000kg of cannabis cultivated on a 20-hectare farm. Five suspects—Augustine Subaru, 45; Ukoba Malachukwu, 53; Odalonu Emmanuel, 40; Esuabom Macaulay, 35; and Itoje Safe, 54—were arrested during the operation.
Suspect
Additionally, on Friday, 28th February, NDLEA operatives intercepted a Mercedes Benz truck, marked AWK 791 ZJ, along the Abraka-Orogun road. A search of the vehicle led to the recovery of 101 bags of skunk, weighing a total of 1,111kg.
Meanwhile, in Edo State, NDLEA officers, supported by the military, raided warehouses in Okpuje, Owan West Local Government Area, on Saturday, 1st March. Over 100 jumbo bags of skunk were destroyed, while 1,409.5kg of the substance was recovered for prosecution. Two suspects, Oikelomen Osere Monday, 38, and Glory Iroyo, 42, were arrested.
Suspects
Further Arrests and Drug Recoveries
Elsewhere, NDLEA operatives arrested Michael Omoloki, 46, with 58.5kg of skunk at the Ibadan end of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway. In Kwara State, on Monday, 24th February, a Beninese national, Lawali Mohammed, was caught with 2,980 tramadol tablets and dozens of diazepam pills at Eiyenkorin Expressway, Ilorin.
In Osun State, NDLEA operatives on patrol along the Ibadan-Gbongan Expressway intercepted 1.05kg of skunk hidden inside detergent and biscuit cartons on Thursday, 27th February.
Suspect
A suspect, Sunday Ogbu, 45, was arrested in connection with the shipment. Similarly, Ayuba Mustapha, 30, was apprehended in Tsafe, Zamfara State, on Sunday, 23rd February, with 24,700 tramadol pills.
In Borno State, Mustapha Shettima, 50, was arrested on Wednesday, 26th February, along Bama Road, Maiduguri, with 31kg of skunk, 1,000 tramadol pills, and ₦720,000 in cash. The same day, Adamu Idris, 40, was intercepted along Zaria Road, Kano, with 140 blocks of cannabis weighing 73.5kg.
NDLEA’s Anti-Drug Campaign Continues
The NDLEA has also intensified its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) campaign, conducting sensitisation activities in schools, places of worship, workplaces, and communities nationwide. Recent outreach efforts included lectures at Ansarudeen Junior Secondary School, Ojuelegba, Lagos; Loretto Girls Special Science School, Adazinnukwu, Anambra State; and Tudun Murtala Special Primary School, Nasarawa Local Government Area, Kano State.
Suspect
Commending the operatives across the country for their successful arrests and seizures, NDLEA Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), reaffirmed the agency’s commitment to tackling drug trafficking through a balanced approach of supply reduction and demand reduction strategies.
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