Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a 38-year-old businesswoman, Iwebema Ogechi Peace, after allegedly finding 7.5 kilograms of cocaine hidden in her luggage at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.
The suspect was arrested on June 21, 2026, while preparing to board a Qatar Airways flight to Beijing, China.
According to the NDLEA, she said she frequently travels to China to buy goods for resale in Nigeria.
A search of her checked luggage led to the discovery of four parcels of cocaine weighing 7.5kg concealed in a specially constructed false compartment.
In another operation, a joint team comprising NDLEA operatives, the Nigeria Customs Service and other security agencies intercepted a 40-foot container at the Apapa Port Complex in Lagos.
The container contained 195 sacks of Canadian Loud, a potent strain of cannabis, weighing 4,959kg and estimated to be worth N12.397 billion. It also carried a Ford vehicle and a Nissan vehicle.
NDLEA said the container had been under surveillance since it departed Toronto, Canada, on April 25, 2026.
The agency also uncovered a syndicate allegedly involved in planting illicit drugs in the luggage of unsuspecting passengers travelling by road.
The operation followed the interception of a bus travelling from Nnewi, Anambra State, in the Abaji area of the Federal Capital Territory on June 20. Officers recovered 467.7 grams of suspected methamphetamine hidden in a sack of clothes bearing a receiver’s phone number.
Investigators later arrested Gloria Peter, the intended recipient of the package, at Utako Motor Park in Abuja. She denied any knowledge of the drugs.
Further investigations led to the arrest of bus loaders in Nnewi, one of whom admitted placing the package in the woman’s bag on the instruction of the driver, Abdurrazak Isah.
The driver later identified a passenger, Onyebuchi Victor Okoye, as the owner of the drugs. Okoye was subsequently arrested.
In separate operations, NDLEA arrested 57-year-old Ikechukwu Uwakwe in Iddo, Lagos, with 209.5kg of Scottish Loud being transported to Enugu.
Two Beninese nationals, Hossou Tito Julien and Mancellim Dossou, alongside a Nigerian, Jackson ThankGod, were also arrested after officers intercepted a truck carrying 558,900 pills of Tramadol 250mg hidden in a specially fabricated compartment.
Similarly, Lucky Abonga and Osas Azamobo were arrested along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway while transporting 118kg of skunk concealed among legitimate goods.
NDLEA operatives also arrested Helen Ese Idiji and Rashidat Sa’adullah in Amukoko, Lagos, where 28.8kg of skunk was recovered.
Investigations showed that Idiji allegedly stored her drug consignments with Sa’adullah before distributing them to customers.
The agency said it has continued its War Against Drug Abuse awareness campaigns across schools, workplaces, places of worship and communities nationwide.
NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brigadier General Mohammed Buba Marwa (retd.), commended officers involved in the operations and urged them to remain committed to the fight against illicit drugs across the country.