In another major breakthrough, operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a 38-year-old businesswoman, Iwebema Ogechi Peace, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) in Ikeja, Lagos.
In a Sunday statement, NDLEA’s media chief, Femi Babafemi, revealed that agents intercepted a China-bound traveler before she could board a Qatar Airways flight to Beijing. A search of her luggage uncovered a massive consignment of cocaine hidden inside a professionally built false bottom.
Acting on credible intelligence, security agents arrested 38-year-old trader Iwebema Ogechi Peace at the Lagos airport’s Terminal 2 departure hall on Sunday, June 21, 2026. While she claimed to be traveling to China to source merchandise, a search of her check-in luggage exposed four large parcels of cocaine hidden inside a professionally built false bottom.
According to the official release, the recovered Class A narcotics yielded a combined total weight of 7.5 kilograms.
In another major breakthrough, a month-long international sting operation paid off on Wednesday, June 23, 2026. Two NDLEA Special Operations Units had been tracking a maritime container from Toronto, Canada, loaded with 195 large sacks of “Canadian Loud”—a highly potent strain of cannabis. A joint port examination at the Apapa Port Complex in Lagos ultimately uncovered 4,959 kilograms of the illicit drug, boasting a staggering street value of ₦12.39 billion.
The massive drug haul was packed inside a 40-foot container alongside a Ford and a Nissan vehicle. To bring it down, the NDLEA utilized an advanced tracking system to shadow the shipment for over two months across an intricate global route. The multi-country transit began via truck in Toronto, Canada, on April 25, 2026, moved by rail to Montreal on April 29, and crossed the Atlantic to Tanger Med, Morocco, by May 11. After being transferred to another vessel on May 23, the container docked at Lagos’ Tin Can Port on June 4, before finally arriving at Apapa Port on Monday, June 22, where agents moved in.
Meanwhile, a sinister network targeting innocent travelers has been dismantled. In a joint operation spanning Abuja and Anambra, NDLEA operatives exposed a syndicate that secretly plants illicit drugs in the luggage of unsuspecting commercial motor park passengers. The syndicate’s deception came to light at Abaji, FCT, on Saturday, June 20, 2026, when agents intercepted a Nnewi-bound Sienna bus and uncovered a hidden consignment of methamphetamine.
During a thorough search of the transit bus, agents intercepted a waybill package containing a whitish substance suspected to be methamphetamine. The narcotics were wrapped in a black nylon bag, buried deep inside a sack of clothing, and labeled with the phone number of the intended recipient.
A swift follow-up operation that same day led agents to the Utako motor park, where they arrested the designated recipient of the waybill, Mrs. Gloria Peter. When she vehemently denied any knowledge or ownership of the drugs found in her luggage, the investigation pivoted. Operatives immediately arrested the bus loaders in Nnewi. One of them cracked under questioning, confessing that he had secretly planted the drug package inside the woman’s bag on the direct orders of the bus driver, Abdurrazak Isah.
Faced with the loader’s confession, the driver also cracked, naming one of his passengers, Onyebuchi Victor Okoye, as the mastermind behind the shipment. In a precise follow-up sting, NDLEA operatives tracked down and arrested Onyebuchi at Utako, FCT. The seized methamphetamine consignment weighed a total of 467.7 grams.
In a separate weekend breakthrough, elite NDLEA operatives acted on a tip-off to arrest 57-year-old Ikechukwu Uwakwe at a motor park in Iddo, Lagos. Agents intercepted Uwakwe just as he was attempting to transport a massive 209.5-kilogram haul of “Scottish Loud”—a highly potent strain of cannabis—bound for Enugu.
This came on the heels of another international drug bust at the Mile 2 bridge. Acting on credible intelligence, operatives intercepted a cross-border smuggling truck originating from Togo. The operation led to the arrest of three suspects: Nigerian national Jackson ThankGod, alongside two Benin Republic citizens, Hossou Tito Julien (30) and Mancellim Dossou (19).
A comprehensive search of the vehicle resulted in the recovery of 558,900 pills of Tramadol (250mg) concealed within a specially fabricated compartment.
In a concurrent operation on Friday, June 26, NDLEA operatives along the Lagos–Ibadan Expressway intercepted a transit truck originating from Ebute Ero, Lagos Island, en route to Onitsha, Anambra State.
A search revealed 118 kilograms of skunk hidden among legitimate merchandise, prompting the arrest of suspects Lucky Abonga and Osas Azamobo. Separately, that same day, enforcement actions at 15 Olumokun Street, Amukoko, Lagos, led to the apprehension of Helen Ese Idiji (40) and Rashidat Sa’adullah (53), following the seizure of 28.8 kilograms of skunk from the premises.
Investigation revealed that Helen acted as the ringleader, using Rashidat’s property as a safehouse to store her illicit consignments before distributing them to street-level buyers.
Maintaining this fierce momentum, NDLEA commands nationwide intensified their War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) campaign over the past week. Operatives took the sensitization message directly to schools, worship centers, workplaces, and local communities.
High-impact enlightenment lectures were delivered to students and staff across the country, including those at Government Girls Science Secondary School (Damaturu, Yobe), Adesalu Primary School (Ibeju Lekki, Lagos), Government Girls Secondary School (Badawa, Kano), the School of Science and Islamic Studies (Ankpa, Kogi), and Community Secondary School (Ezimo, Enugu).
Commending the operatives for their remarkable successes, NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Brig. Gen. Mohammed Buba Marwa (Rtd) praised the balanced approach of crippling drug supply lines while aggressively pushing the WADA advocacy campaign.
Marwa charged the high-performing commands—including MMIA, Apapa, FCT, Anambra, and Lagos—alongside their colleagues nationwide, to maintain their fierce momentum and refuse to rest on their oars.
