NDLEA Nabs India-Bound Trader Over Cocaine

​The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a 48-year-old businessman, Nwankwo Innocent Onyebuchi, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) in Lagos for attempting to traffic 1.550kg of cocaine to New Delhi, India.

​Onyebuchi, who previously traded in marbles, was apprehended at the departure hall of Terminal II while checking in for a Qatar Airways flight. Operatives discovered the cocaine factory-fitted into the walls and railings of his luggage. During interrogation, the suspect confessed that he liquidated his marble business and sold all his personal assets to raise ₦23 million for the illicit consignment, anticipating a payout of around ₦100 million upon reaching India. He remains in custody awaiting prosecution.

​Nationwide Crackdown and Massive Seizures

​The airport arrest coincides with a series of high-profile intelligence-led operations nationwide that yielded multi-billion-naira narcotics:

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• ​Lagos Warehouses and Estates: In Okota, Lagos, an intelligence raid on a residential warehouse at 20 Hakeem Dosumu Street uncovered 3,776 cartons containing 377,600 bottles of codeine-based syrup valued at over ₦2.6 billion. Additionally, operatives raided the Ipaja estate residence of suspected kingpin Shoremi Kayode, seizing 324kg of “Colorado” (a synthetic cannabis strain) worth ₦972 million alongside two vehicles.
• ​Oyo and Kwara Interceptions: Along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, 70-year-old Abdulfatai Oyelaran and Abdulrauf Ajadi were intercepted with 52,000 ampoules of pentazocine injection and 6,000 ampoules of tramadol injection. In Ilorin, Kwara State, Abubakar Adamu and Bilyaminu Nuhu were arrested with 55.96kg of skunk.
• ​Delta and Plateau Operations: Operatives along the Onitsha-Asaba Expressway intercepted 124,100 pills of tramadol, hundreds of codeine bottles, and various other opioids, arresting Osaro Ikpoba and Samuel Godbless. Meanwhile, a Toyota Corolla on the Riyom-Jos Road in Plateau State yielded 239,490 capsules of Tramaforce.
• ​Kano and Edo Raids: Kano commands intercepted massive quantities of opioids, cocaine, and synthetic cannabis along the Zaria-Kano road and raided Zawaciki Gida Dubu, arresting multiple suspects. In Edo State, over 4,600kg of skunk across two cannabis farms in the Ugboku/Igbanke forest were destroyed, alongside raids on drug joints in Benin City.

​Leadership Commendation

​The Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), lauded the officers across the MMIA, Lagos, Kano, Kwara, Edo, Plateau, Oyo, and Delta commands. He commended personnel for maintaining a strategic balance between aggressive drug supply reduction and vital demand reduction frameworks, which include ongoing social advocacy programs like the War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitization lectures in schools.