NDLEA Nabs 62-Year-Old Businessman With 95 Cocaine Wraps at Kano Airport

NDLEA Nabs 62-Year-Old Businessman With 95 Cocaine Wraps at Kano Airport

Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a 62-year-old Lagos-based businessman, Nwabueze Izueke, at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport (MAKIA) in Kano State for allegedly attempting to smuggle 95 jumbo-sized wraps of cocaine to China.

In a statement issued on Sunday, NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi disclosed that Izueke was arrested on Saturday, January 31, 2026, during the clearance of passengers departing for China via Addis Ababa on Ethiopian Airlines flight ET940.

According to the agency, Izueke was subjected to a body scan, which confirmed that he had ingested illicit drugs. He was subsequently placed under medical observation.

“While under observation, the suspect, who claims he is into the clothing and auto spare parts business in Lagos, expelled a total of 95 pellets of the class A drug cocaine in seven excretions,” Babafemi said.

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The recovered drugs reportedly weighed 1.589 kilogrammes.

Babafemi added that the suspect confessed he ventured into drug trafficking in a bid to raise funds to complete a house under construction in his village, Iwollo, Enugu State.

The NDLEA spokesman said the arrest formed part of a nationwide crackdown on drug trafficking, which recorded multiple seizures and arrests across several states.

In the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), NDLEA operatives recovered 627.7 kilogrammes of skunk, a strain of cannabis, from a makeshift warehouse at Fums Plaza, Kubwa. The agency also foiled attempts to transport methamphetamine concealed in MP3 speakers from Enugu to Abuja and Kaduna.

Babafemi said four suspects — Ebube Okeke, Evans Ugwu, Mohammed Eze Arinze and Friday Michael — were arrested in connection with the consignments.

“A follow-up operation in Zuba, FCT, led to the arrest of Ebube Okeke, the owner of one of the parcels containing 173 grams of methamphetamine, while the trio of Evans Ugwu, Mohammed Eze Arinze and Friday Michael were arrested in Kaduna when they arrived to collect the second consignment weighing 28 grams of meth,” he stated.

The NDLEA also recorded arrests and seizures in Taraba, Oyo, Kwara, Imo, Ondo, Lagos and Enugu states.

In Oyo State, operatives arrested a suspect, Adeniyi Adeola (alias Prince), at Foko, Agbeni Market, Ibadan, where they recovered 10,820 ampoules of pentazocine injection and 117,820 capsules of tramadol from his truck.

Also in Ibadan, a drug kingpin, Jimoh Nurudeen, 40, who allegedly operates a facility producing Colorado, a synthetic cannabis, was arrested alongside his accomplice, Ogundipe Yusuf, 27, at Badeku area. Items recovered included precursor chemicals, skunk, drug production paraphernalia, ₦7.4 million in cash, and two vehicles.

In Imo State, a couple — Izuchukwu Azubuike, 37, and Ifunaya Mmadueke, 32 — were arrested at Umuaka, Njaba, with 203 kilogrammes of skunk, while NDLEA operatives in Ondo State recovered 420 kilogrammes of skunk hidden in a bush at Ikun Akoko.

Babafemi said the series of operations underscore the agency’s renewed resolve to dismantle drug networks and clamp down on traffickers across Nigeria.

NDLEA Nabs 62-Year-Old Businessman With 95 Cocaine Wraps at Kano Airport