By Kingsley Omonobi
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested two Europe-based Nigerian businessmen who allegedly ingested 200 wraps of cocaine in an attempt to smuggle the drugs from Abuja to Paris, France.
The agency also arrested a woman with 266 rounds of live AK-47 ammunition along the Abuja-Kaduna Expressway and seized large consignments of illicit drugs in operations across several states.
The NDLEA disclosed that the two suspects, Aliocus Godian Odife and Sam Blackborn, were intercepted on Wednesday, October 28, 2026, during the outward clearance of an Air France flight, AF 832, from Abuja to Paris at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport.
According to the agency, the suspects excreted a combined 200 wraps of cocaine weighing 3.460 kilogrammes.
Odife, who reportedly lives in France and works in a factory, had arrived in Nigeria on October 21 for a short holiday but was arrested while attempting to return to Europe.
A body scan conducted by NDLEA operatives revealed foreign objects in his stomach, prompting his arrest.
During interrogation, he reportedly admitted to ingesting 110 pellets of cocaine. He was subsequently placed under observation and excreted all 110 wraps, which tested positive for cocaine and weighed 1.901 kilogrammes.
His co-traveller, Blackborn, was also arrested at the airport after a body scan confirmed that he had ingested illicit substances.
He reportedly confessed to swallowing 90 pellets of cocaine and subsequently excreted all of them under observation. The wraps weighed 1.559 kilogrammes.
In a related operation in Lagos, NDLEA operatives acting on intelligence on the movement of skunk, a potent strain of cannabis, from the Island to the Mainland, intercepted a white Volkswagen LT 28 bus along Kudirat Abiola Way, Ikeja, on Sunday, October 25.
The operation led to the seizure of 537 kilogrammes of the substance.
On the same day, another team intercepted a brown J5 bus along the Gbagada-Oshodi Expressway, recovering an additional 439 kilogrammes of skunk.
In Oyo State, operatives on Thursday, October 29, arrested two suspects, Oguntona Nasiru, 46, and Soji Balogun, 47, while loading 554 kilogrammes of skunk into a Volvo truck at Idere Road, Igboora.
The operation targeted a suspected drug dealer identified as “Omo Oba”, who reportedly escaped arrest on October 25 when officers seized 309.5 kilogrammes of cannabis, popularly known as Ghanaian Loud, allegedly linked to him.
In Kano State, NDLEA operatives on Monday, October 26, raided a location in the Tsamiya area of Gezawa, recovering 247,500 tablets of diazepam weighing 57.7 kilogrammes and 100,000 tablets of Exol-5 weighing 38.7 kilogrammes.
Two days later, another operation in Dorayi area led to the arrest of Ziya’ulhaq Abdullahi, 35, and Garba Muhammed, 52, with 19,250 tablets of tramadol 225mg weighing 13.6 kilogrammes.
Meanwhile, a woman, Aisha Isah, was arrested at a toll gate along the Abuja-Kaduna Expressway during a patrol, with 266 rounds of live AK-47 ammunition recovered from her.
On the Zaria-Kano Expressway, operatives arrested a 68-year-old man, Ifeanyi Egwolonwu, at Gwargwaje, Zaria, with 2,770 ampoules of pentazocine injection, 100 ampoules of diazepam injection, 11,000 tablets of diazepam and 4,500 tablets of Exol-5.
Another raid at Tashan Banke area of Kano State led to the arrest of seven suspects, including Faisal Adamu, and the recovery of 178.85 kilogrammes of cannabis, alongside quantities of diazepam, tramadol, Exol-5 and pregabalin.
In Ondo State, operatives acting on intelligence raided cannabis farms in Ijare Forest on Sunday, October 25, arresting four suspects, including Bassey Okon, 24; Abraham Edet, 20; and Oto Udo, 24.
The operation resulted in the recovery of 16 bags of processed cannabis weighing 180 kilogrammes.
Similarly, NDLEA operatives, supported by soldiers, raided Eko Camp in Ilushi, Esan South-East Local Government Area of Edo State, on Wednesday, October 28.
The operation led to the destruction of a cannabis plantation measuring 1.646 hectares, with an estimated yield of 4,115.53 kilogrammes.
A 50-year-old woman, Christiana Uboi, was arrested at the camp with 301 kilogrammes of processed cannabis, while another 176 kilogrammes was recovered during the operation.
In Sokoto State, operatives of the agency’s Zone 7 Command, acting on intelligence, arrested a 68-year-old man, Ibrahim Ayuba, on Saturday, October 31, with 236.6 kilogrammes of skunk.
Beyond enforcement operations, the agency said its commands and formations across the country sustained public sensitisation activities under its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) campaign.
The activities included enlightenment lectures for students and staff of Obawole Grammar School II, Ojodu, Lagos; Nsukka High School, Nsukka, Enugu State; Government Technical College, Dorayi Babba Rijiyar Zaki, Gwale Local Government Area of Kano State; and Ajagbe Comprehensive High School, Iperu, Ogun State, among others.
Reacting to the operations, NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), commended officers of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Lagos, Kano, Kaduna, Sokoto, Ondo, Oyo and Edo commands for the arrests and seizures.
Marwa described the interception of the two cocaine couriers at Abuja airport as a warning to Nigerians who believe their residence abroad could provide cover for international drug trafficking.
He said NDLEA officers at the country’s entry and exit points remained vigilant, warning that there was no hiding place for anyone willing to risk their lives and liberty by ingesting illicit drugs for financial reward.
The NDLEA boss urged officers across the country to sustain the momentum against drug trafficking networks while intensifying demand-reduction efforts through public enlightenment in schools, worship centres, workplaces and communities.
The post NDLEA arrests two cocaine couriers with 200 wraps, woman with 266 rounds of AK-47 ammunition in Abuja appeared first on Vanguard News.