Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a Brazil-based Nigerian businessman, Uche Franklin Onyekwere, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos, for attempting to smuggle cocaine into the country concealed in his private part and the soles of his footwear.
Onyekwere, 47, was apprehended on Thursday, January 29, 2026, during the inward clearance of South African Airways passengers arriving from Brazil via Johannesburg, following actionable intelligence. A full body scan confirmed illicit drug concealment, prompting a strip search that uncovered a large wrap of cocaine strapped to his right thigh and two additional wraps hidden inside the soles of his flat shoes.
In total, three wraps of cocaine weighing 1.60 kilograms were recovered. The suspect confessed during preliminary interrogation that he purchased the drug in Brazil to resell in Nigeria in order to raise capital for his toy business and to finance the naming ceremony of his newborn child. He claimed to have lived in São Paulo, Brazil, since 2008.
In another major operation, NDLEA operatives at the Tincan Seaport, Lagos, on Wednesday, January 28, uncovered 55 jumbo bags of Canadian Loud, a potent strain of cannabis, weighing 1,183 kilograms, concealed in a container imported from Montreal, Canada.
The drugs were hidden inside two vehicles—a Hyundai SUV and a Toyota Matrix—during a joint examination involving NDLEA, Customs and other security agencies.
In Niger State, NDLEA officers acting on intelligence intercepted a truck marked T 31589 LA along the Dei-Dei–Abuja Expressway on Tuesday, January 26, arresting three suspects—Andy Chidogu (49), Kenneth Ogene (45), and Sadiq Olanrewaju (27). Recovered from the vehicle were 176 bags of skunk weighing 2,735 kilograms and one kilogram of Colorado, a synthetic cannabis.
Investigations revealed that the truck driver, Ogene, had initially transported 800 bags of flour from Lagos to Ekpoma, Edo State, before agreeing to convey the cannabis consignment for N1.7 million.
In Edo State, operatives on Tuesday, January 27, arrested Shaibu Yusuf along the Auchi–Abuja Expressway while attempting to transport 66 bags of skunk concealed in charcoal sacks and weighing 792 kilograms to Katsina State. A day later, NDLEA operatives, with support from the Nigerian Army, raided a cannabis farm at Ebora Camp, Ilushi, in Esan South East Local Government Area, destroying 4,063.675 kilograms of skunk cultivated on 1.6 hectares of farmland. They also recovered 328 kilograms of processed cannabis and seeds. Four suspects—Jeremiah Nwodeh (46), Chukwudi Pius (33), Pius Ogaba (46), and Onora Kwene (35)—were arrested.
In Anambra State, operatives intercepted a cement truck at Upper Iweka, Onitsha, on Wednesday, January 28, discovering 345.2 kilograms of skunk concealed beneath bags of cement. One of the occupants, Abum Okeke (42), was identified as the owner of the illicit drug.
Similarly, in Ondo State, two suspects—Tunde Ogundele (39) and Soji Elegbelye (46)—were arrested at Eleyewo community in Akure North LGA in connection with the seizure of 473 kilograms of skunk.
In Kano State, NDLEA operatives arrested Abdullahi Usman (45) along Murtala Mohammed Way with 12,500 ampoules of pentazocine injection, while another suspect, Musa Shuaibu (42), was apprehended in Gaya area with 4,390 pills of tramadol.
Other arrests include Oragwan Ekene, who was nabbed at Okeyson Park, Alaba, Lagos, on Friday, January 30, with 15.5 kilograms of skunk heading to Onitsha, and Omang Peter Edward, from whom 3.5 kilograms of skunk concealed inside a sound system and cereal packs were recovered at the Seme Border, Badagry, as he arrived from Cotonou, Benin Republic.
Meanwhile, NDLEA continued its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation campaigns across the country, reaching schools and communities in Yobe, Abia, Enugu, Lagos, Katsina and Oyo states, among others.
Commending officers of the MMIA, Tincan, Niger, Lagos, Edo, Anambra, Ondo and Kano Commands for their professionalism, the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), urged them to sustain the agency’s balanced approach to drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction.
Femi Babafemi
Director, Media & Advocacy
NDLEA Headquarters, Abuja
Sunday, February 1, 2026
