NDLEA arrests newlywed with 72 wraps of cocaine at Enugu airport

Newlywed detained at Enugu airport by NDLEA after excreting 72 wraps of cocaine

Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) arrested a 25-year-old newlywed businessman, identified by the agency as Lovely Chukwulobelu, in the departure hall of Akanu Ibiam International Airport (AIIA), Enugu, on Thursday, 25 September 2026, after intercepting him as he tried to board an Ethiopian Airlines flight to Portugal via Addis Ababa.

The NDLEA said the suspect had ingested 72 wraps of cocaine, and after his arrest he was placed under excretion observation; the agency said in a statement reported by multiple outlets that he subsequently excreted all 72 wraps. The NDLEA added that when arrested the suspect was wearing his wedding ring.

According to the agency’s statement, the suspect told investigators that prior to relocating to Portugal in May 2023 he ran a car-decoration business at the Trade Fair Complex in Ojo, Lagos. The statement said he returned to Nigeria and married on 13 September 2026; he told officers that he turned to the alleged drug trade to offset expenses incurred during his wedding.

NDLEA announcements also detailed a string of other large seizures and arrests across the country.

Major opioid seizure at MMIA, Lagos

At the import shed of Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, NDLEA operatives recovered what the agency described as one of its biggest opioid hauls of the year while jointly examining three monitored consignments.

The agency said a total of 2,550,000 pills, identified as Tramaking 225mg, Tramaking 250mg and Royal Tapentadol 250mg, were recovered, with a combined gross weight of 1,640.55 kilogrammes. The consignments were reported to have been imported from India and Bangladesh via Qatar Airways, RwandAir and Ethiopian Airlines.

Other arrests and destructions

• In Bauchi State, NDLEA operatives arrested two men, Umar Hamidu (35) and Abdulkarim Salihu (45), on the Maiduguri bypass after finding 300 compressed blocks of skunk weighing 262.5kg, allegedly hidden in a false compartment of a truck.
• Two cannabis farms at Eko Camp, Ilushi, Edo State, were destroyed by NDLEA officers supported by soldiers; the farms’ combined estimated yield was reported as 1,360.23kg.
• In Lagos, two women, named as Odumabo Kehinde (36) and Obiekwe Chioma (40), were arrested on Anifowoshe Street, Mushin, with 3.4kg of skunk. At Ebute-Ero motor park, a 58-year-old man, Ugwu Johnson, was arrested in possession of 5.920kg of skunk, 2,400 ampoules of pentazocine injection, 8,400 tablets of nitrazepam and 40,000 tramadol pills.
• Two Togolese nationals, Yinusa Abdulsamad (35) and Fatai Baba (33), were arrested along the Iganna-Ilero road in Oyo State after 305.6kg of skunk concealed in two pickup vans were found; the agency said the cannabis was sourced from Ghana and being moved into Nigeria via the Oyo axis.
• NDLEA operatives at the Seme border in Badagry, Lagos, arrested five suspects and recovered 420 cartons of nitrous oxide (laughing gas) weighing 1,688.4kg; two vehicles reportedly used to convey the consignment into Lagos were seized.

The NDLEA said its commands and formations continued War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation activities in schools, worship centres and communities across several states. The agency’s chairman and chief executive officer, Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), praised the officers involved in the operations and urged them to sustain the agency’s balanced approach to drug control efforts.

NDLEA statements and the reported operations are detailed in full in agency releases carried by Channels Television, Vanguard and Punch.

Sources: NDLEA statements reported by Channels Television (Channels), Vanguard (Vanguard) and Punch (Punch).

Featured image: West African Settlements via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.