NDLEA Foils Heroin Smuggling by Two Drug Kingpins at Lagos, Port Harcourt Airports
Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have thwarted attempts by two drug kingpins to smuggle consignments of heroin into Nigeria through the Port Harcourt International Airport and the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos.
One of the suspects, Onyekwonike Elochukwu Sylvanus, 30, who operates with dual identities, was arrested with a Sierra Leonean passport bearing the name Kargbo Mohamed Foday on February 2, 2025, at the Port Harcourt airport. NDLEA officers intercepted him during the inward clearance of passengers on a Qatar Airways flight from Doha via Abuja to Port Harcourt.
A body scan confirmed he had ingested illicit drugs, leading to his placement under excretion observation. Over five excretions, he expelled 62 wraps of heroin weighing 1.348 kilograms. Investigations revealed that Sylvanus alternates his Nigerian and Sierra Leonean identities for drug trafficking missions across Thailand, Pakistan, Iran, and West African countries. He admitted to venturing into the illicit trade in 2017 after his clothing and shoe business collapsed.
Similarly, another drug kingpin, James Herbert Chinoso, 48, was arrested at MMIA, Lagos, on February 1, 2025, upon arrival from Madagascar via Addis Ababa on an Ethiopian Airlines flight. A body scan confirmed the presence of illicit substances in his system, after which he excreted 63 wraps of heroin weighing 909 grams.
Chinoso had departed Lagos for Madagascar on January 26, 2025, and returned a week later. He confessed to resorting to drug trafficking after his phone accessories business in Liberia failed.
In a separate operation, NDLEA operatives from the Directorate of Operations and General Investigation (DOGI) intercepted two parcels of Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis, weighing 2.82 kilograms. The consignment, imported from the United States, was destined for Lagos and was seized at a courier firm in the state on February 6.
Additionally, NDLEA officers intercepted 80 ampoules of pentazocine injection, weighing 225 grams, concealed in cartons and being shipped to Canada through another logistics company in Lagos.
The NDLEA has reiterated its commitment to dismantling drug trafficking networks and bringing perpetrators to justice.
