February 15, (THEWILL) — Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have recorded a series of major interdictions across Nigeria, arresting a China-based Nigerian businessman and two Angolan nationals who excreted a combined 236 wraps of cocaine at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport and the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, while also thwarting an audacious attempt to export cocaine to the United Kingdom from behind prison walls in Lagos.
A statement signed on Sunday by the agency Spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, said a 34-year-old businessman, Ibeanu Vincent Chukwudulue, was arrested on Wednesday, February 4, 2026, while boarding a Qatar Airways flight from Kano to China via Abuja and Doha.
Acting on credible intelligence, Babafemi said NDLEA officers at the Abuja airport demanded that he be deboarded and subjected him to a body scan, which confirmed ingestion of illicit drugs.
He was placed under observation and subsequently excreted 52 pellets of cocaine weighing 735.95 grams. In his statement, Chukwudulue disclosed that he previously ran a business on Lagos Island before relocating to Guangzhou, China, in 2024.
On the same day in Kano, two Angolan nationals, Mbandu Martins Makiadi, 50, and Ngoma Wilson Fernando, 52, were intercepted at the departure hall of the Kano airport during the outward clearance of passengers travelling to Istanbul, Turkey, via Addis Ababa on Ethiopian Airlines. Body scans confirmed they had ingested drugs.
Under observation, Makiadi excreted 76 wraps of cocaine weighing 920 grams in seven excretions, while Fernando expelled 108 pellets weighing 1.33 kilograms in five excretions.
During interrogation, the suspects, who hail from Hoji Ya Henda in Luanda, Angola, said they were recruited by an automobile spare-parts dealer in Luanda and promised $3,000 each upon successful delivery of the drugs in Turkey.
In a related development, NDLEA operatives at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport foiled an attempt by a convicted drug kingpin, Olashupo Michael Oladimeji, to export 1.10 kilograms of cocaine to London on a Virgin Atlantic flight.
The cocaine was concealed in processed cassava granules, popularly known as “garri.” Oladimeji, who is currently serving a five-year jail term at the Ikoyi Correctional Centre following his 2025 conviction for attempting to export 17.90 kilograms of cocaine, allegedly masterminded the latest operation from prison using his company, Dimeji Express Logistics.
NDLEA officers intercepted the consignment at the airport’s export shed on February 12 and arrested a staff member of the logistics firm, Adedeji Yusuf Gbolahan, who presented the shipment.
Further operations at the Lagos airport led to the arrest of a 44-year-old estate surveyor, Adelaja Taiwo Adetayo, over an attempt to export 1.70 kilograms of skunk concealed in five jerry cans to the UK.
The cargo agent who presented the consignment was initially arrested, while a follow-up operation led to Adetayo’s arrest in Lagos.
Elsewhere, NDLEA operatives in Abuja intercepted a waybill from Enugu containing a children’s toy guitar, inside which two parcels of Canadian Loud cannabis weighing 59.2 grams were concealed. A follow-up operation led to the arrest of the owner of the consignment, Henry Onuma, at Life Camp.
In Lagos, officers raided a four-bedroom duplex in Ikate-Elegushi, Lekki, used for the production and storage of synthetic cannabis, popularly known as “Colorado,” recovering drugs and precursor chemicals.
Similar raids and interceptions in Oyo, Kwara and Edo states led to multiple arrests and the seizure of large quantities of tramadol and skunk.
Across the country, NDLEA commands also sustained their War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation campaigns in schools and communities, reaching students and staff in institutions across Oyo, Adamawa, Nasarawa, Katsina and Lagos states.
Commending the officers and men of the various commands for their professionalism and successes, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Mohamed Buba Marwa, urged them to sustain the agency’s balanced approach to drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction nationwide.
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