NDLEA Nabs Ugandan Woman with 87 Cocaine Wraps at Lagos Airport

​Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a 34-year-old Ugandan national, Farida Nansubuga, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) in Ikeja, Lagos. The suspect was intercepted while attempting to traffic 1.15 kilogrammes of cocaine hidden in her pelvic region.

​Church Trip Turned Drug Run

​According to a statement issued by the NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, Nansubuga entered Nigeria on October 29 alongside members of her congregation. The group had traveled from Uganda for spiritual renewal and a prayer session at The Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN) located in the Ikotun-Egbe area of Lagos.

​While the rest of her delegation flew back to Uganda following the religious event, Nansubuga extended her stay. Investigators revealed that she remained behind to take delivery of an illicit consignment on behalf of an overseas associate identified as Joy.

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• ​The Handover: A local contact arranged transit to a Lagos hotel on the morning of her scheduled departure, where an unidentified individual handed her the drugs.

• ​The Concealment: Instructed to evade security checkpoints, Nansubuga strapped 87 wraps of cocaine beneath two layers of underwear around her pelvic region.

• ​The Interception: On Tuesday, November 3, joint passenger screening by NDLEA operatives and aviation security personnel at Terminal 2 exposed the concealment as she prepared to board a flight back to Uganda.

​During preliminary interrogation, the suspect admitted she anticipated a payout of at least $1,000 upon successfully delivering the narcotics in Uganda.

​Exploitation of Faith Condemned

​Reacting to the development, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA, Brig-Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), decresed the incident as a stark warning about transnational syndicates weaponizing religious tourism.

• ​Cartel Tactics: Marwa emphasized that drug traffickers will manipulate sacred journeys and spiritual travel frameworks to recruit unwitting or willing couriers.
• ​Operational Vigilance: He commended the joint security personnel for their sharp alertness and urged all commands nationwide to maintain relentless pressure on supply and demand reduction networks.

​Broader Nationwide Interceptions

​The arrest of the Ugandan national coincided with a series of high-volume drug seizures executed by the agency across various logistics and cargo hubs:

• ​Opioid Seizure: At the Lagos airport import shed, operatives uncovered 750,000 tablets of Tapentadol 250mg—weighing 526kg with an estimated street value of ₦900 million—disguised as Paracetamol tablets within an Ethiopian Airlines consignment originating from Ahmedabad, India.
• ​Concealed Narcotics: Operatives intercepted 32 parcels of “Loud” (a potent strain of cannabis) weighing 16.15kg hidden inside two wooden sofas shipped from Houston, United States.
• ​Postal & Cargo Interdictions: Additional shipments destined for the United Kingdom contained 600 tablets of Tramadol 225mg ingeniously sewn into female headwear, alongside 46 blocks of cannabis weighing 22.2kg.

​The NDLEA has ramped up forensic and intelligence operations to dismantle local cells tied to these international networks as investigations continue.