Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a Brazil-based Nigerian businessman, Uche Franklin Onyekwere, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos, for attempting to smuggle cocaine into the country.
According to the NDLEA Director of Media and Advocacy, Mr Femi Babafemi, the 47-year-old suspect was apprehended on Thursday, January 29, 2026, during inward clearance of passengers on a South African Airways flight arriving from Brazil via Johannesburg, following actionable intelligence.
Babafemi said a full-body scan conducted on the suspect confirmed the concealment of illicit drugs. A subsequent strip search led to the recovery of three large wraps of cocaine one wrapped around his right thigh and two hidden in the soles of his footwear. The drugs weighed a total of 1.60 kilograms.
“During preliminary interrogation, the suspect admitted purchasing the cocaine in Brazil with the intention of selling it in Nigeria to raise capital for his business and to finance the naming ceremony of his newborn child,” Babafemi disclosed. He added that Onyekwere, who resides in São Paulo, Brazil, claimed he had lived there since 2008 and operated a toy business for about nine years.
In another major seizure, NDLEA officers at the Tincan Seaport, Lagos, in a joint examination with the Nigeria Customs Service and other security agencies on Wednesday, January 28, uncovered 55 jumbo bags of Canadian Loud cannabis weighing 1,183 kilograms. The consignment, imported from Montreal, Canada, was concealed inside a container housing two vehicles: a Hyundai SUV and a Toyota Matrix.
Across the country, the agency recorded multiple interceptions. In Niger State, operatives intercepted a truck along the Dei-Dei–Abuja Expressway on Tuesday, January 26, arresting Andy Chidogu (49), Kenneth Ogene (45), and Sadiq Olanrewaju (27) with 176 bags of skunk weighing 2,735 kilograms and 1 kilogram of Colorado, a synthetic cannabis. Investigations revealed the suspects negotiated to transport the drugs for ₦1.7 million after delivering a flour consignment to Ekpoma, Edo State.
In Edo State, NDLEA arrested Shaibu Yusuf along the Auchi–Abuja Expressway with 66 bags of skunk (792kg) concealed in charcoal bags. Operatives, supported by Nigerian Army personnel, also raided a cannabis farm at Ebora camp, Ilushi, destroying 4,063.675kg of skunk cultivated on over 1.6 hectares of farmland and recovering 328kg of processed cannabis. Four suspects, Jeremiah Nwodeh (46), Chukwudi Pius (33), Pius Ogaba (46), and Onora Kwene (35) were arrested.
In Anambra State, officers intercepted a cement truck at Upper Iweka, Onitsha, on January 28, discovering 345.2kg of skunk concealed among cement bags. The drugs were linked to Abum Okeke (42), one of the occupants of the truck.
Further arrests were recorded in Ondo, Kano, Lagos, and at the Seme border, Badagry, where suspects were apprehended with various quantities of skunk, tramadol pills, pentazocine injections, and other illicit substances.
Babafemi noted that NDLEA commands nationwide also intensified War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation activities in schools, worship centres, workplaces, and communities across several states during the week.
Commending officers of the MMIA, Tincan, Niger, Lagos, Edo, Anambra, Ondo, and Kano commands for their professionalism, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd.) urged them to sustain the agency’s balanced strategy of drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction in the ongoing fight against drug abuse and trafficking.
