Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) arrested 62-year-old Lagos businessman Nwabueze Nicholas Izueke at Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport while he attempted to fly to China with 95 jumbo-sized cocaine wraps weighing 1.589 kilograms concealed in his stomach.
The arrest occurred on January 31, 2026, during passenger clearance for Ethiopian Airlines flight ET940 via Addis Ababa. A body scan detected the ingested drugs, and Izueke subsequently expelled 95 pellets in seven excretions. He reportedly said he trafficked the cocaine to fund the completion of a country home in his village, Iwollo, Enugu State.
In related operations, NDLEA recovered 627.7 kilograms of skunk cannabis from a warehouse at Fums Plaza, Kubwa, FCT, and foiled attempts by Ebube Okeke, Evans Ugwu, Mohammed Eze Arinze, and Friday Michael to smuggle methamphetamine hidden in MP3 speakers from Enugu to Abuja and Kaduna.
Further arrests included:
Yusuf Abubakar, 32, caught transporting 1.8 kilograms of meth in yoghurt packs in Taraba State.
Shuaibu Abdulrahman, 29, a Beninois national, with 149.6 kilograms of skunk in Oyo State.
Adeniyi Adeola, aka Prince, with pentazocine ampoules and tramadol capsules in Ibadan.
Jimoh Nurudeen, 40, and accomplice Ogundipe Yusuf, 27, seized with skunk, chemicals, cash, and vehicles in Ibadan.
Izuchukwu Azubuike, 37, and Ifunaya Mmadueke, 32, with 203 kilograms of skunk in Imo State.
Eze Nodebechi Austin, caught with 31 cocaine wraps arriving from Côte d’Ivoire in Lagos.
Adekunle Oluwatosin Olajide, with 3.6 kilograms of Canadian Loud and Colorado in Lagos.
Emeka Okeke, 37, arrested in Enugu with cannabis, methamphetamine, cocaine, molly, and N457,700 in cash.
NDLEA continues nationwide operations targeting drug trafficking and organized crime, seizing narcotics concealed in creative ways, from vehicles to food products, and arresting multiple suspects across Nigeria.
