NDLEA Arrests Businesswoman with 7.5kg Cocaine at Lagos Airport

NDLEA Arrests Businesswoman with 7.5kg Cocaine at Lagos Airport
Seizes N12.4bn Cannabis Shipment
Arrests Suspects Across Nigeria

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has recorded a series of major anti-drug operations across the country, arresting several suspected traffickers, intercepting cocaine at the Lagos airport, and seizing a cannabis shipment valued at over N12.3 billion.

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Eko Hot Blog reports that among those arrested is 38-year-old businesswoman, Iwebema Ogechi Peace, who was apprehended on June 21, 2026, at the departure hall of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, while attempting to board a Qatar Airways flight to Beijing, China.

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According to the agency, the suspect, who claimed she frequently travelled to China to buy goods for resale in Nigeria, was arrested following credible intelligence.

A search of her checked luggage allegedly uncovered 4 parcels of cocaine weighing 7.5 kilogrammes, concealed in a specially constructed false compartment.

In another major operation, a joint team comprising operatives of the NDLEA Apapa Strategic Command, the Nigeria Customs Service and other security agencies intercepted a 40-foot container at the Apapa Port Complex on June 23.

The container, which had been under surveillance for more than 4 weeks after leaving Toronto, Canada, contained 195 sacks of Canadian Loud, a potent strain of cannabis, weighing 4,959 kilogrammes with an estimated street value of N12.397 billion. The shipment also contained Ford and Nissan vehicles.

NDLEA Arrests Businesswoman with 7.5kg Cocaine at Lagos Airport

The agency also uncovered an alleged syndicate accused of secretly planting illicit drugs in the luggage of unsuspecting passengers at motor parks.

The operation began after NDLEA operatives intercepted a commercial bus travelling from Nnewi, Anambra State, to the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and recovered 467.7 grammes of suspected methamphetamine concealed in a sack of clothes bearing the receiver’s phone number.

A follow-up investigation led to the arrest of the intended recipient, Mrs Gloria Peter, at Utako Motor Park in Abuja. Although she denied knowledge of the package, further investigations resulted in the arrest of bus loaders in Nnewi, one of whom confessed to placing the drugs in her luggage on the instruction of the driver, Abdurrazak Isah.

The driver later identified Onyebuchi Victor Okoye, one of his passengers, as the alleged owner of the drugs. Okoye was subsequently arrested by NDLEA operatives.

In a separate operation, NDLEA operatives arrested 57-year-old Ikechukwu Uwakwe at Iddo Motor Park in Lagos with 209.5 kilogrammes of Scottish Loud allegedly being transported to Enugu State.

The agency also arrested 2 Beninese nationals, Hossou Tito Julien, 30, and Mancellim Dossou, 19, alongside a Nigerian, Jackson ThankGod, after intercepting a truck carrying 558,900 tablets of Tramadol 250mg hidden inside a specially fabricated compartment. The consignment was allegedly transported from Togo through the Republic of Benin into Nigeria.

Also along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, NDLEA operatives arrested Lucky Abonga and Osas Azamobo while transporting 118 kilogrammes of skunk concealed among legitimate goods in a truck heading to Onitsha.

In Amukoko, Lagos, Helen Ese Idiji, 40, and Rashidat Sa’adullah, 53, were arrested after operatives recovered 28.8 kilogrammes of skunk. Investigators alleged that Idiji stored drug consignments with Sa’adullah before distributing them to customers.

Beyond enforcement operations, NDLEA said its commands nationwide intensified the War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) campaign through sensitisation programmes in schools, places of worship, workplaces and communities.

Commending the operatives involved in the various operations, NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohammed Buba Marwa (Rtd), praised officers from the MMIA, Special Operations Units, Apapa, Lagos, Anambra and FCT Commands for their efforts.

He urged personnel across the country to sustain the fight against illicit drugs while strengthening public awareness campaigns aimed at reducing drug abuse.