The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) says the recent arrest of two Brazil returnees who excreted 116 wraps of heroin and cocaine at Lagos airport highlights the growing sophistication of international trafficking networks and their links to Nigeria’s domestic drug crisis.
NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi confirmed that 46-year-old Ofoma Sunday and 36-year-old Ukachukwu Frank Ikechukwu were arrested on separate flights from Brazil through Addis Ababa and placed under observation after body scans confirmed ingestion of illicit drugs.
“Ofoma egested a total of 111 wraps of heroin weighing 1.452 kilograms in eight excretions, while Ukachukwu expelled five wraps of cocaine weighing 145 grams,” Babafemi said.
Investigations led to the arrest of 55-year-old Nweke Jude Chukwudi at a Lagos hotel where he was designated to oversee the recovery of the heroin. In his confession, Ukachukwu admitted that he bought nine wraps of cocaine in Brazil and inserted them into his anus but had to discard two wraps due to severe pain during transit.
“I could only manage to reinsert seven wraps before boarding, but I expelled two more on the flight,” he told interrogators, adding that he had previously lived in the United States before being deported in 2022.
The NDLEA said the Lagos seizures were part of a larger week-long operation that intercepted multiple shipments concealed in phone chargers, food items, and even underwear.
A businesswoman, Okolonkwo Ebere Theresa, was arrested with 1.40kg of methamphetamine hidden in a butt pad while attempting to board a Qatar Airways flight to Doha.
At the NAHCO export shed, operatives uncovered 40 wraps of methamphetamine weighing 2.30kg in food items bound for Hong Kong, and in another case, 257 grams of cocaine hidden inside phone chargers destined for New Zealand.
Domestic seizures also surged. In Adamawa, 233,800 tramadol pills were recovered in raids, including 195,600 abandoned in a Toyota Sienna.
In Zamfara, operatives intercepted 1,099kg of cannabis skunk in a Mitsubishi truck, while in Edo State, two cannabis farms covering over four hectares were destroyed, with an estimated yield of more than 11,000kg. Arrests linked to these seizures cut across Yobe, Taraba, and other states.
