In a sweeping crackdown on drug trafficking, operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have intercepted multiple drug shipments across various states in Nigeria, culminating in the arrest of several suspects, including a woman attempting to smuggle cocaine to Iran and a British ex-convict transporting cannabis from Thailand.
At the Port Harcourt International Airport in Rivers State, NDLEA officers on Sunday, 3rd May 2025, apprehended Ihensekhien Miracle Obehi, who attempted to board a Qatar Airways flight to Iran via Doha. Obehi, disguised in a hijab to evade detection, was caught with cocaine concealed in her private parts, stomach, and the false bottom of her handbag. Following her arrest, she was placed under excretion observation, leading to the recovery of 67 wraps of cocaine from her digestive system. The total weight of the drug consignment was 2.523 kilograms.
Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, commended the officers for their vigilance, stating, “This arrest underscores the lengths traffickers will go to smuggle illicit drugs, but our officers remain resolute in dismantling drug syndicates and ensuring that Nigeria is not a safe haven for drug traffickers.”
In a related development, NDLEA operatives at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos, intercepted a 22-year-old British national, Campell Kaizra Kofi Johannes Slifer, who arrived from Thailand via Doha with two suitcases containing 35 parcels of Loud, a potent strain of cannabis, weighing 37.60kg. Slifer, who admitted to having been previously convicted in the UK for drug trafficking and robbery, confessed that he was recruited in London to convey the consignment to Nigeria.
Meanwhile, in Niger State, on 7th May, NDLEA officers acting on intelligence intercepted a fuel tanker and three other vehicles transporting 246 bags of skunk, a high-grade strain of cannabis, weighing 3,047 kilograms along the Suleja-Kaduna Road. Four suspects – Christopher Onyema, 47; Benedict Etineruba Young, 54; Chukwudi Ujue Jerry, 30; and Mohammed Abdullahi Danasabe – were arrested at the scene.
Similarly, at Oja Amukoko in Lagos, two suspects, Eze Chekube Emmanuel and Ike Samuel Chinyerem, were arrested with a combined total of 109,914 pills of tramadol, swinol, and nitrozepam on 8th May. In Kaduna State, 52.5kg of skunk was seized from two suspects – Lukman Sabo Umar, 23, and Tukur Ammadu, 20 – who were intercepted in a bus at Gwantu, Sanga Local Government Area.
In Bauchi State, a Toyota Tundra jeep conveying 526 blocks of skunk weighing 505kg was intercepted along the Bauchi-Gombe Road on 6th May. The two suspects, Isaac Onogure, 37, and Ikechukwu Peter, 44, were taken into custody.
A major drug haul was also recorded in Kano, where NDLEA operatives raided a hideout in the Rijiyar Zaki area, recovering 31 kegs containing 775 litres of codeine syrup and arresting two suspects, Hafizu Isa Uman, 34, and Ismail Shehu, 48, on 10th May.
Brigadier General Marwa urged the public to remain vigilant and report suspicious drug-related activities to NDLEA, emphasizing, “Our commitment to the War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) remains unyielding. We will continue to disrupt drug networks and bring perpetrators to justice to safeguard our society.”
NDLEA’s social advocacy activities under WADA also continued across the country with sensitization lectures delivered to students and religious groups in Sokoto, Anambra, Akwa Ibom, and Oyo states, aiming to curb drug abuse and educate the populace on the dangers of illicit drug consumption.
