NDLEA Stops Major Drug Trafficking Operations at Nigerian Airports

Operatives from the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have successfully intercepted several large consignments of illegal drugs at Nigerian airports, preventing their distribution to various destinations including the United Kingdom, Italy, Turkey, and Qatar. These operations were conducted at Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Ikeja, Lagos State, and Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja.

On November 5, 2024, NDLEA officers seized 13 parcels of cocaine weighing approximately 4.40 kilograms. The cocaine was intended for the United Kingdom via Frankfurt on a Lufthansa Airlines flight. A businessman associated with this consignment, Ekeocha Nelson, was apprehended on November 8, following intensive investigation efforts.

Further reinforcing their operations, NDLEA operatives arrested another suspect, Adegbite Solomon, on November 11, 2024, for attempting to export 7,800 pills of tramadol, 180 tablets of Rohypnol, and 60 bottles of codeine to Italy. These drugs were cleverly concealed in food items, and Solomon was detained while trying to board an Ethiopian Airlines flight at the Lagos airport. He later confessed to having travelled to Europe by sea and surviving as a street beggar before entering the logistics business.

In another Lagos airport discovery on November 15, 2024, NDLEA officers intercepted Anoke Roomy with 1,100 tramadol pills hidden in his luggage. The suspect was trying to board a flight to Istanbul, Turkey, on Ethiopian Airlines.

Additionally, credible intelligence led to a significant bust at a hotel room in the Federal Housing Authority Estate, Lugbe, Abuja. NDLEA agents arrested Omeh Uchenna Jude and Anene Valentine Chigozie with 1.8 kilograms of methamphetamine believed to be destined for Qatar.

The crackdown also included the arrest of Emmanuel Okeke, a trans-border trafficker, who attempted to smuggle 50,000 tramadol pills from Ghana into Lagos. The pills were buried in the body compartments of a vehicle belonging to the GUO Transport Company. This operation was successfully conducted on November 16, 2024, along the Lagos-Badagry expressway.

According to Femi Babafemi, NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy, who disclosed these incidents via his social media account, cocaine worth millions of naira was found concealed in everyday food items, further illustrating the lengths drug syndicates are willing to go to evade detection. «The unimaginable places #ndlea_nigeria officers find illicit drugs these days will make you cringe and be more careful when dealing with humans,» Babafemi noted in a social media post.

The NDLEA’s recent operations highlight the agency’s unwavering commitment to combating drug trafficking within and beyond Nigeria’s borders. The arrests underscore the innovative and persistent nature of drug traffickers, and the ongoing need for vigilance and strategic countermeasures in this fight.