– NDLEA intercepts cocaine bound for Saudi Arabia, Italy; seizes over 3.2 tonnes of cannabis in nationwide operations
Michael Olugbode in Abuja
A 30-year-old Italy-based businessman, Joseph Cyril, has been arrested by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) after he allegedly ingested 98 wraps of cocaine and attempted to smuggle them out of Nigeria through the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu.
Cyril was arrested on Sunday, August 2, 2026, during the outward clearance of passengers aboard Ethiopian Airlines flight ET930, which was scheduled to take him to Italy through Addis Ababa and France.
Following his arrest, NDLEA operatives placed him under excretion observation, during which he excreted all 98 wraps containing cocaine with a combined weight of 1.510 kilogrammes.
The spokesman of NDLEA, Femi Babafemi in a statement on Sunday said investigations by the anti-narcotics agency revealed that Cyril had arrived in Nigeria from Italy on July 13 and allegedly ingested the cocaine in a hotel in Awka, Anambra State, before travelling to Enugu to board his flight back to Europe.
The suspect reportedly told investigators that he had been doing business in Italy for years but agreed to traffic the consignment for €3,500, allegedly to raise money to relocate to Germany, where members of his family are based.
The Enugu arrest was one of several major interdictions recorded by the NDLEA across the country in the past week as the agency intensified its campaign against international drug trafficking and domestic distribution networks.
In Lagos, NDLEA operatives foiled attempts by drug trafficking syndicates to export 1.2 kilogrammes of cocaine to Saudi Arabia after the drug was discovered concealed inside 25 pieces of phone chargers at a courier company.
Another 500 grammes of cocaine destined for Italy was intercepted last Monday after operatives discovered the drug hidden inside the false bottom of a backpack at another logistics company.
NDLEA officers last Tuesday also intercepted a consignment of 2.3 kilogrammes of Loud, a potent synthetic strain of cannabis, imported from the United States through a shipping company in Lagos.
The agency’s operations extended to major cannabis-producing and trafficking corridors, along the Akure-Ilesha Expressway in Ondo State, operatives last Tuesday intercepted a truck travelling northward with 1,633 kilogrammes of skunk concealed among bags of rice shafts.
Two suspects, Buba Jamilu, 40, and Sanusi Ibrahim, 30, were arrested in connection with the consignment.
The development came barely a day after NDLEA officers raided Ita Ogbolu Forest in Ondo State, where they recovered another 147 kilogrammes of skunk.
In Oyo State, operatives acting on intelligence raided a suspected drug warehouse at Elebure village in Orire Local Government Area last Monday, where 731.03 kilogrammes of skunk was seized and a 57-year-old suspect, Felicia Thompson was arrested.
Her alleged partner, Thompson Nwaka, however, remains at large.
In Edo State, NDLEA operatives, supported by soldiers, recovered 65 jumbo bags of skunk weighing 604.5 kilogrammes during an operation at Ewe Luleha in Owan West Local Government Area laat Wednesday.
In Abia State, NDLEA operatives arrested 31-year-old Chibuike Charles during a raid on a drug joint at Samec by Powerline Base in Osisioma Local Government Area, where about 7 kilogrammes of skunk was recovered from the suspect.
In Lagos, the agency finally brought down a notorious wanted drug dealer, Adome Sikuru, following a three-month manhunt.
Sikuru was arrested on Saturday at the Fibre Market drug jungle in Badagry, where NDLEA officers recovered 88.5 kilogrammes of skunk from him.
At the Tin Can Island Port Complex in Lagos, NDLEA officers, working with the Nigeria Customs Service and other security agencies, discovered a massive consignment of cannabis-infused edibles during the joint examination of a 40-foot container last Tuesday.
The seizure comprised 73 cartons containing 442 packets of cookies and gummies infused with cannabis, with a combined weight of 309.4 kilogrammes. A suspect, Larry Nnaji, has been arrested in connection with the consignment.
The series of operations underscores the increasingly sophisticated methods being deployed by drug trafficking networks, including the concealment of cocaine in everyday consumer products, false-bottom luggage, body ingestion and the movement of large cannabis consignments through commercial transport and maritime channels.
Beyond interdiction and arrests, the NDLEA said its Commands and formations continued with its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation campaign across schools, religious institutions, workplaces and communities.
Commending personnel of the Drug Demand Reduction, Drug Supply Reduction and other operational formations involved in the seizures, NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd), urged officers across the country to sustain what he described as the agency’s balanced approach to drug control.