A 25-year-old newlywed businessman, Lovely Chukwulobelu, has been arrested by National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu operatives of the , for allegedly attempting to traffic 72 wraps of cocaine to Portugal.
Newsonspot gathered that Chukwulobelu was intercepted at the airport’s departure hall on Thursday, September 25, 2026, while attempting to board an Ethiopian Airlines flight to Portugal via Addis Ababa.
According to the NDLEA, the suspect had ingested the cocaine wraps and was subsequently placed under excretion observation. He later ingested all 72 wraps of the Class A illicit drug.
According to the Director, Media and Advocacy, NDLEA, Femi Babafemi, the suspect, who had his wedding ring on his finger when he was arrested, reportedly told investigators that he was involved in the car decoration business at the Trade Fair Complex, Ojo, Lagos, before relocating to Portugal in May 2023.
He said he recently returned to Nigeria and got married on September 13, 2026, adding that he resorted to drug trafficking in an attempt to offset expenses incurred during his wedding.
Meanwhile, NDLEA operatives at the import shed of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, have intercepted one of the agency’s biggest opioid seizures of the year.
The seizure followed the joint examination of three monitored consignments on Tuesday, September 22, resulting in the recovery of 2,550,000 pills of Tramaking 225mg, Tramaking 250mg and Royal Tapentadol 250mg.
The consignments, which had a combined gross weight of 1,640.55 kilogrammes, were imported from India and Bangladesh through Qatar Airways, RwandAir and Ethiopian Airlines.
In Bauchi State, NDLEA operatives arrested two suspects, Umar Hamidu, 35, and Abdulkarim Salihu, 45, along the Maiduguri bypass with 300 compressed blocks of skunk weighing 262.5kg.
The cannabis was allegedly 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, by NDLEA officers supported by soldiers on Wednesday, September 23.
The agency also recorded arrests and seizures in Lagos and Oyo states.
In Lagos, two women, Odumabo Kehinde, 36, and Obiekwe Chioma, 40, were arrested on Saturday, September 26, during a raid on Anifowoshe Street, Mushin, where 3.4kg of skunk was recovered.
In a separate operation at Ebute-Ero motor park, NDLEA officers arrested a 58-year-old man, Ugwu Johnson, with several consignments of illicit drugs, including 5.920kg of skunk, 2,400 ampoules of pentazocine injection, 8,400 tablets of nitrazepam and 40,000 pills of tramadol.
At Iganna-Ilero Road, Iganna, Oyo State, two Togolese nationals, Yinusa Abdulsamad, 35, and Fatai Baba, 33, were arrested with 305.6kg of skunk allegedly concealed in two pick-up vans.
The NDLEA said the suspects were involved in a cross-border trafficking operation through which Ghana-sourced cannabis was allegedly moved 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 seized.
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 activities included sensitisation lectures 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 Local Government Area of 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 officers and men of the MMIA, AIIA, Lagos, Oyo, Edo, Seme and Bauchi Commands for the operations, NDLEA Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.) urged personnel across the country to sustain the agency’s balanced approach to drug control.
