Metro

NDLEA Nabs Indian Woman at Kano Airport With Heroin Disguised as Chocolates

Published

6 days ago

Mar 23, 2025.

NDLEA intercepted a 42-year-old Indian woman at Kano Airport with 72 parcels of heroin concealed in chocolate wrappers.
The consignment, weighing 11kg, was smuggled from Thailand via Vietnam and Doha before being seized during arrival checks.
NDLEA Chairman Marwa warned that drug cartels are increasingly using foreign nationals to traffic illicit substances into Nigeria.

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a 42-year-old Indian woman, Ms. Neetu Neetu, at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport (MAKIA), Kano, for attempting to smuggle 72 parcels of heroin concealed in wafer wraps and packaged as chocolates.

EKO HOT BLOG reports that in a statement issued on Sunday, NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, revealed that the consignment, weighing 11kg, was seized during a search at the airport’s arrival hall.

The arrest was made during the inward clearance of Qatar Airways flight QR1431 from Bangkok, Thailand, via Vietnam and Doha, on March 14, 2025, following credible intelligence.

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NDLEA Chairman/CEO, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), expressed concern over a rising trend where drug cartels recruit foreign nationals, including white women, to traffic illicit substances through Nigeria. He emphasized that the agency remains vigilant and continues to leverage modern technology and intelligence to thwart such tactics.

In a separate operation in Kano, NDLEA operatives arrested 45-year-old Michael Ogundele on Thursday with a 50-litre steel gas cylinder at Gadar Tamburawa, along the Zaria-Kano road. Upon cutting it open, officers discovered 50,000 pills of tramadol 225mg hidden inside.

Additionally, on Wednesday, officers apprehended 40-year-old Sunday Ogar in Gunduwawa with 27kg of skunk, while on Tuesday, a female suspect, Khadijah Abdullahi, was caught in Lungun Bulala Yalwa with 424 bottles of codeine-based syrup.

In Lagos, NDLEA operatives arrested Olumuyiwa Kolawole and Samod Adisa in Mushin with 67.5kg of skunk. Another 100.8kg was recovered from a storage facility linked to two fleeing suspects in Anifowoshe, Mushin.

Elsewhere, on Tuesday, officers arrested Isah Idris in Apapa with 4.5kg of skunk, 600 grams of tramadol 225mg, and 30 litres of codeine syrup. The same day, Yahaya Mohamed was nabbed in Ikotun with varying quantities of cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine.

Beyond enforcement, NDLEA formations across Nigeria have intensified their War Against Drug Abuse advocacy, engaging in sensitization programs in schools, markets, workplaces, and religious centers.