Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested several suspects and recovered large quantities of illicit drugs across Nigeria in a sweeping nationwide crackdown.
At the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, NDLEA officers arrested a 62-year-old Lagos-based businessman, Nwabueze Nicholas Izueke, while he was attempting to travel to China with 95 pellets of cocaine concealed in his stomach.
The drugs, weighing 1.589kg, were discovered after a body scan and later expelled under medical observation.
Izueke reportedly told investigators he went into drug trafficking to raise money to complete a house he was building in his hometown of Iwollo, Enugu State.
In Abuja, operatives uncovered 627.7kg of skunk from a makeshift warehouse in Kubwa and foiled attempts to smuggle methamphetamine hidden in MP3 speakers to Abuja and Kaduna, leading to the arrest of four suspects.
In Taraba State, NDLEA officers intercepted 1.8kg of methamphetamine concealed inside yoghurt packs, while in Oyo State, arrests were made over seizures of skunk, tramadol, pentazocine injections and materials used to produce synthetic cannabis.
Further operations led to the arrest of suspects in Kwara, Imo, Ondo, Lagos and Enugu states, with recoveries including hundreds of thousands of tramadol capsules, cocaine, skunk and other hard drugs.
The NDLEA said the operations reflect its continued determination to dismantle drug networks nationwide.
The agency’s chairman, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), praised officers for their professionalism and urged them to sustain the fight against drug abuse and trafficking across the country.
