By Ebinum Samuel
A 55-year-old businessman, Onuigbo Ndubisi Chinedu who deals in clothing at the popular Balogun market, Lagos Island, has been arrested by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) over attempt to export 3.30 kilograms of cocaine concealed in walls of cartons used to package foodstuffs going to the United kingdom.
Onuigbo was arrested on Thursday 23rd July 2026 following the interception of his cocaine consignment at the export shed of the Lagos airport the previous day, Wednesday 22nd July by NDLEA operatives. In the course of investigation, three cargo agents: Nkwor Onyekachukwu Justina; Adeleke Abiola Taoheed; and Ukanwa Grace Pilgrim, who handled the shipment were initially arrested leading to the arrest Kenneth Okakpu who delivered the consignment to the cargo agents for shipment to the UK.
Okakpu’s arrest provided the lead to identifying Onuigbo as the kingpin behind the syndicate and his eventually arrest while attempting to send another consignment of cocaine to the UK.
A 31-year-old entrepreneur Emmanuella Chukwu-Edo also involved in illicit drug trafficking was on Tuesday 21st July arrested at her Surulere Lagos residence by NDLEA operatives following the seizure of her consignment of 2.80kg Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis, which arrived from the United States aboard a United Airlines flight on Monday 20th July.
In another interdiction operation at the Lagos airport, a total of Two Million Two Hundred and Forty (2,240,000,000) pills of Tapentadol 250mg worth over N2.2 billion in street value were recovered from a shipment from India aboard an Air Maroc flight during a joint examination of the cargo on Friday 24th July. The exercise was based on an intelligence received and processed by NDLEA. This came on the heels of the seizure of a consignment of tramadol buried in containers of black soap heading to the UK. The shipment was intercepted by NDLEA operatives at a courier firm in Lagos on Wednesday 22nd July.
At the Apapa seaport in Lagos, a container of three vehicles used to conceal a total number of 4,777 sachets of Canadian Loud weighing 2,388.5kg worth over N7.1 billion in street value, was uncovered during a joint examination of the shipment on Monday 20th July.
A suspect Mustapha Sani, 30, was on Wednesday 22nd July nabbed by NDLEA operatives
on patrol operation at Baure, Safana LGA, Katsina state where he was found with 323 rounds of military grade ammunition consisting of 200 pieces of 7.62mm and 123 rounds of 7.6mm neatly concealed.
Another suspect, Abubakar Amadu, 30, was arrested by NDLEA officers on stop and search operation at Jere, along Abuja-Kaduna expressway where he was found with 73 RLA, 7.62mm ammunition hidden in kegs of red oil. Both suspects have been handed over to the relevant security agency for further investigation.
In Edo state, raid operations at Ilushi community, Esan South East LGA, on Sunday 19th July led to the seizure of 1,286kg cannabis and 86kg cannabis seeds from a warehouse while Ojore Onweze, 45, was caught with 60kg skunk and George Agwumede, 30, nabbed with 13kg of the same substance.
With the same vigour, Commands and formations of the Agency across the country continued their War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitization activities to schools, worship centres, work places and communities among others in the past week. These include: WADA sensitization lecture to students and staff of Government Day Secondary School, Sabon Wuse, Niger state; Government Girls Secondary School, Shekara, Kano; and Otto Primary School, Ebute Metta, Lagos state, among others.
While commending the officers and men of DOGI, MMIA, Apapa, Edo, Kaduna, and Katsina Commands for the various successful operations, Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd) enjoined them and their colleagues across the country to continue with the ongoing balanced approach to the drug control efforts of the Agency.
