A 25-year-old businessman, Lovely Chukwulobelu, has been arrested by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) for allegedly attempting to traffic cocaine to Portugal.
Chukwulobelu was arrested at the departure hall of the Akanu Ibiam International Airport (AIIA), Enugu, on Thursday, September 25, 2026, while preparing to board an Ethiopian Airlines flight to Portugal through Addis Ababa.
According to the NDLEA, the suspect had swallowed 72 wraps of cocaine before arriving at the airport. Following his arrest, he was placed under observation to allow him to expel the drug.
The agency said he later excreted all 72 wraps of cocaine.
The NDLEA also noted that Chukwulobelu was still wearing his wedding ring when he was arrested.
In a statement issued on Sunday by the agency’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, the NDLEA said the suspect told investigators that he previously operated a car decoration business at the Trade Fair Complex in the Ojo area of Lagos.
He reportedly relocated to Portugal in May 2023 but had recently returned to Nigeria and got married on September 13, 2026.
The suspect allegedly told investigators that he became involved in drug trafficking in an attempt to recover expenses incurred during his wedding.
NDLEA seizes 2.55 million opioid pills in Lagos
In a separate operation, NDLEA operatives at the import shed of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, seized 2,550,000 opioid pills during the joint examination of three monitored consignments.
The agency said the consignments contained Tramaking 225mg, Tramaking 250mg and Royal Tapentadol 250mg, with a combined gross weight of 1,640.55kg.
The consignments were imported from India and Bangladesh through Qatar Airways, RwandAir and Ethiopian Airlines.
262.5kg cannabis seized in Bauchi
In Bauchi State, NDLEA officers arrested two suspects, Umar Hamidu, 35, and Abdulkarim Salihu, 45, along the Maiduguri bypass.
The suspects were allegedly found with 300 compressed blocks of skunk, a strain of cannabis weighing 262.5kg.
According to the agency, the drugs were concealed in the false bottom of a truck marked MUB757 YH.
In Edo State, NDLEA officers, supported by soldiers, also destroyed two cannabis farms at Eko Camp, Ilushi. The farms were estimated to have a combined yield of 1,360.23kg.
NDLEA raids drug hotspots in Lagos
In Lagos, two women, Odumabo Kehinde, 36, and Obiekwe Chioma, 40, were arrested during a raid on Anifowoshe Street, Mushin, on Saturday, September 26.
The operation led to the recovery of 3.4kg of skunk.
In another operation at Ebute-Ero motor park on the same day, NDLEA officers arrested 58-year-old Ugwu Johnson and recovered several consignments of illicit drugs.
The recovered items included 5.920kg of skunk, 2,400 ampoules of pentazocine injection, 8,400 tablets of nitrazepam and 40,000 pills of tramadol.
Two Togolese arrested with 305.6kg cannabis
Two Togolese nationals, Yinusa Abdulsamad, 35, and Fatai Baba, 33, were also arrested along the Iganna-Ilero road in Iganna, Oyo State.
The NDLEA said the suspects were intercepted with 305.6kg of skunk concealed in two pickup vans allegedly being used for cross-border trafficking.
The agency said the cannabis was sourced from Ghana and transported into Nigeria through the Oyo axis.
At the Seme border in Badagry, Lagos, five suspects were also arrested with 420 cartons of nitrous oxide, commonly known as laughing gas.
The substance weighed 1,688.4kg, while two vehicles allegedly used to transport the consignment from the border into Lagos were seized.
The suspects were identified as Kingsley John, 40; John Chibuike Okeke, 44; Lamidi Ismaila, 40; Babatunde Samuel, 42; and Afeesu Idowu, 47.
NDLEA continues anti-drug campaigns
The NDLEA said its commands and formations across the country also continued with its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation campaigns during the week.
The campaigns were conducted in schools, worship centres, workplaces and communities, including Community High School in Saki, Oyo State; Auchi College in Auchi, Edo State; Alkali Modibbo Islamic Centre in Dukku, Gombe State; and Junior Arabic Secondary School in Kahu, Kibiya Local Government Area of Kano State.
The Delta Ports Command also visited His Royal Majesty, Ogiame Atuwatshe III, the Olu of Warri, as part of its WADA advocacy activities.
NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), commended officers and personnel of the MMIA, AIIA, Lagos, Oyo, Edo, Seme and Bauchi commands for the operations.
Marwa urged NDLEA personnel across the country to maintain what he described as the agency’s balanced approach to drug control.
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