A 25-year-old businessman, Lovely Chukwulobelu, has been arrested by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) for allegedly attempting to smuggle cocaine to Portugal through Enugu airport.
According to a statement by NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi, Chukwulobelu was arrested on September 25 at the departure hall of Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu.
He was allegedly attempting to board an Ethiopian Airlines flight to Portugal via Addis Ababa when NDLEA operatives arrested him.
Babafemi said the suspect had ingested the cocaine and was placed under excretion observation. He subsequently expelled 72 wraps of cocaine.
The NDLEA said Chukwulobelu, who lives in Portugal, had recently returned to Nigeria and got married on September 13.
The agency said he previously operated a car decoration business at the Trade Fair Complex in Ojo, Lagos, before relocating to Portugal in May 2023.
According to the NDLEA, the suspect reportedly told investigators that he became involved in drug trafficking to offset expenses incurred during his wedding.
NDLEA seizes 2.55 million opioid pills
The NDLEA also reported the seizure of 2.55 million pills of tramadol and tapentadol during an operation at the import shed of Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, on September 22.
The agency said the drugs were recovered from three monitored consignments imported from India and Bangladesh through Qatar Airways, RwandAir and Ethiopian Airlines.
The consignments contained Tramaking 225mg, Tramaking 250mg and Royal Tapentadol 250mg, with a combined gross weight of 1,640.55kg.
In Bauchi, NDLEA officers arrested two men, Umar Hamidu, 35, and Abdulkarim Salihu, 45, along the Maiduguri bypass with 300 compressed blocks of skunk weighing 262.5kg. The drugs were allegedly concealed in a false bottom of a truck.
The agency also said its operatives, supported by soldiers, destroyed two cannabis farms at Eko Camp, Ilushi, Edo State, on September 23. The farms had an estimated combined yield of 1,360.23kg of cannabis.
In Lagos, two women were arrested during a raid on Anifowoshe Street, Mushin, where officers recovered 3.4kg of skunk.
The NDLEA said another suspect, 58-year-old Ugwu Johnson, was arrested at Ebute-Ero motor park, with 5.92kg 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 were arrested along the Iganna-Ilero road with 305.6kg of skunk allegedly concealed in two pick-up vans.
Meanwhile, five suspects were arrested at the Seme border in Badagry, Lagos, with 420 cartons of nitrous oxide weighing 1,688.4kg.
The NDLEA said two vehicles allegedly used to transport the consignment into Lagos were also seized.
The agency said it continued its War Against Drug Abuse sensitisation campaigns in schools, religious centres, workplaces and communities across the country.
