A 25-year-old newlywed businessman, Lovely Chukwulobelu, has been arrested by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) for allegedly attempting to traffic 72 wraps of cocaine to Portugal.
Chukwulobelu was arrested at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu, on Thursday, September 25, 2026, while attempting to board an Ethiopian Airlines flight to Portugal via Addis Ababa.
The suspect, who had ingested the cocaine, was placed under excretion observation by NDLEA operatives and subsequently expelled all 72 wraps of the illicit drug.
According to the agency, Chukwulobelu had returned to Nigeria recently and got married on September 13. He reportedly told investigators that he was into car decoration business at the Trade Fair Complex, Ojo, Lagos, before relocating to Portugal in May 2023.
He allegedly said he turned to drug trafficking to offset expenses incurred during his wedding.
Meanwhile, NDLEA operatives at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, have intercepted 2.55 million pills of illicit opioids weighing 1,640.55kg.
The drugs, comprising Tramaking 225mg, Tramaking 250mg and Royal Tapentadol 250mg, were recovered during the examination of three monitored consignments imported from India and Bangladesh through Qatar Airways, RwandAir and Ethiopian Airlines.
In Bauchi State, two suspects, Umar Hamidu, 35, and Abdulkarim Salihu, 45, were arrested along the Maiduguri bypass with 300 compressed blocks of skunk weighing 262.5kg.
The cannabis was allegedly concealed in the false bottom of a truck marked MUB757 YH.
In Edo State, NDLEA operatives, supported by soldiers, destroyed two cannabis farms at Eko Camp, Ilushi, with an estimated combined yield of 1,360.23kg.
In Lagos, two women, Odumabo Kehinde, 36, and Obiekwe Chioma, 40, were arrested during a raid on Anifowoshe Street, Mushin, where 3.4kg of skunk was recovered.
Also in Lagos, NDLEA officers intercepted a 58-year-old man, Ugwu Johnson, at Ebute-Ero motor park with 5.920kg of skunk, 2,400 ampoules of pentazocine injection, 8,400 tablets of nitrazepam and 40,000 pills of tramadol.
In Oyo State, two Togolese nationals, Yinusa Abdulsamad, 35, and Fatai Baba, 33, were arrested along the Iganna-Ilero Road, Iganna, with 305.6kg of skunk concealed in two pickup vans.
The NDLEA said the suspects were allegedly involved in a cross-border trafficking operation involving Ghanaian-sourced cannabis moved into Nigeria through the Oyo axis.
At the Seme border in Badagry, Lagos, five suspects were arrested with 420 cartons of nitrous oxide, popularly known as laughing gas, weighing 1,688.4kg.
The suspects are Kingsley John, 40; John Chibuike Okeke, 44; Lamidi Ismaila, 40; Babatunde Samuel, 42; and Afeesu Idowu, 47.
Two vehicles allegedly used to convey the consignment from the border into Lagos were also seized.
The NDLEA also said its commands and formations across the country continued their War Against Drug Abuse sensitisation campaigns in schools, worship centres, workplaces and communities.
The activities included sensitisation lectures at Community High School, Saki, Oyo State; Auchi College, Auchi, Edo State; Alkali Modibbo Islamic Centre, Dukku, Gombe State; and Junior Arabic Secondary School, Kahu, Kibiya Local Government Area of Kano State.
The Delta Ports Command also paid a WADA advocacy visit to the Olu of Warri, His Royal Majesty Ogiame Atuwatshe III.
Commending the officers and men involved in the operations, NDLEA Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd), urged personnel across the country to sustain the agency’s balanced approach to drug control.
