NDLEA intercepts cocaine couriers, drug consignments at Kano, Abuja airports

Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a China-based Nigerian businessman and two Angolan nationals who excreted a total of 236 wraps of cocaine after being intercepted at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, and the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport.
The suspects were identified as Ibeanu Vincent Chukwudulue, 34, and two Angolans, Mbandu Martins Makiadi, 50, and Ngoma Wilson Fernando, 52.
NDLEA said Ibeanu was arrested on February 4 while on board a Qatar Airways flight from Kano to China via Abuja and Doha. Acting on intelligence, operatives at the Abuja airport ordered his removal from the aircraft for a body scan, which confirmed he had ingested drugs. He was kept under observation and later excreted 52 pellets of cocaine weighing 735.95 grams. The suspect reportedly said he relocated to Guangzhou, China, in 2024 after doing business on Lagos Island.
On the same day in Kano, Makiadi and Fernando were intercepted during passenger clearance for an Ethiopian Airlines flight to Istanbul via Addis Ababa. Body scans confirmed drug ingestion, and both suspects were placed under observation. Makiadi later excreted 76 wraps weighing 920 grams, while Fernando expelled 108 pellets weighing 1.33 kilograms. They told investigators they were recruited by a spare parts dealer in Luanda, Angola, who promised each of them $3,000 upon successful delivery in Turkey.
In a separate operation at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, NDLEA officers foiled an attempt by a convicted drug kingpin, Olashupo Michael Oladimeji, to export 1.10 kilograms of cocaine to London concealed in garri.
Oladimeji, currently serving a five-year sentence at the Ikoyi Correctional Centre for a previous cocaine trafficking case, allegedly coordinated the shipment from prison through his company, Dimeji Express Logistics. The consignment was intercepted at the airport’s export shed on February 12, leading to the arrest of a company staff member, Adedeji Yusuf Gbolahan, who presented it for export.
Similarly, an estate surveyor, Adelaja Taiwo Adetayo, was arrested after NDLEA operatives foiled an attempt to export 1.70 kilograms of skunk hidden in five jerry cans to the United Kingdom. A cargo agent who presented the shipment was first arrested, leading to Adetayo’s capture in a follow-up operation in Lagos.
In Abuja, NDLEA officers intercepted a waybill package from Enugu containing a children’s toy guitar used to conceal two parcels of Canadian Loud cannabis weighing 59.2 grams. A follow-up operation led to the arrest of the owner, Henry Onuma, in Life Camp.
In Lagos, officers raided a four-bedroom duplex in Ikate-Elegushi, Lekki, used for the production and storage of Colorado, a synthetic cannabis. The operation followed the seizure of 73 cartons of nitrous oxide along the Ajah–Epe expressway. Two suspects, Amos Innocent and Victor Oyedeji, were arrested, while 13.2 kilograms of the substance and precursor chemicals were recovered.
In Ibadan, a suspected drug dealer, Oluwayemisi Bunmi, 45, was arrested with 1.189 kilograms of Colorado, skunk, 320 grams of methamphetamine, ₦2.97 million, and two Toyota Matrix vehicles.
Also, in Kwara State, operatives recovered 105,400 tramadol pills from a suspect, Kamilu Abdullahi, after intercepting his vehicle at Bode Saadu.
In Edo State, five suspects were arrested during a raid on a forest camp in Ovia North East Local Government Area, where 563.5 kilograms of skunk were recovered.
The agency said its officers also continued anti-drug sensitisation campaigns across schools, workplaces, worship centres, and communities nationwide.
NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd), commended officers involved in the operations across various commands and urged them to sustain the balanced approach to reducing drug supply and demand across the country.