Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a Brazil-based Nigerian businessman for allegedly attempting to smuggle liquid cocaine into the country through clothing items impregnated with the illicit substance.
According to the anti-narcotics agency on Sunday, the 41-year-old suspect, Abugu Oliver Ikechukwu, was apprehended at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos, upon his arrival from São Paulo, Brazil, via Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, aboard an Ethiopian Airlines flight on June 11, 2026.
A thorough search of his luggage led to the discovery of 14 shirts and towels that had been soaked in liquid cocaine, dried and carefully ironed to conceal the narcotics. The recovered items contained a total of 6.10 kilograms of liquid cocaine.
In his statement to investigators, Ikechukwu claimed he had lived in Brazil for more than 14 years, where he operates an African restaurant. He said he travelled to Nigeria to visit his wife and purchase food items for his business.
The arrest was among several major drug interdictions recorded by the agency across the country in the past week.
In Abia State, NDLEA took into custody a 60-year-old woman, Chidimma Sunday, after she was allegedly caught with 1.8 kilograms of skunk by members of the Umuosu Vigilante Group in Isialangwa North Local Government Area. The suspect was subsequently handed over to the agency.
Similarly, in Rivers State, operatives arrested 28-year-old Abubakar Usman, a person living with disability, during a raid in the Rumuokoro area of Port Harcourt. Recovered from him were 400 grams of skunk, five grams of methamphetamine, 100 grams of tramadol, five grams of swinol and 18 grams of diazepam.
In Delta State, NDLEA officers arrested a suspect, Onya Jude, 36, at Ogwashi-Uku, Aniocha South Local Government Area, after recovering 2.8 kilograms of Loud, a potent strain of cannabis, concealed inside five gas cylinders.
The agency also arrested two suspected drug dealers, Jamilu Idris, popularly known as Jama, and Aminu Abdullahi, alias Momo, in Gombe State. They were found in possession of three large blocks of skunk weighing 2.738 kilograms.
In Kano State, officers intercepted Ngozi Gaius, 39, along the Zaria-Kano Road with 6,000 pills of tramadol 225mg. In Kwara State, operatives arrested Nasiru Hamza, 47, and Muhammad Sani, 38, while transporting 600 compressed blocks of skunk weighing 304 kilograms in a Toyota jeep.
A major seizure was also recorded in Taraba State, where NDLEA operatives raided the warehouse of a suspected drug trafficker, Ali Adamu, in Maihula village, Bali Local Government Area. The operation led to the recovery of 63 jumbo bags of cannabis sativa weighing 1,121.5 kilograms.
On the same day, officers on patrol along the Gwagwalada Expressway in the Federal Capital Territory arrested Emmanuel Nnadi, 46, and recovered 30,400 pills of tramadol, 750 capsules of pregabalin, 200 pills of molly and 592 bottles of codeine-based syrup.
In Lagos State, the agency recovered a large consignment of Ghana Loud, weighing 1,102 kilograms, around the Alaba International Market in Ojo.
Beyond enforcement operations, NDLEA commands nationwide continued their War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation campaign through lectures and advocacy visits in schools, communities, workplaces and traditional institutions across several states.
Commending officers and men of the agency for the arrests and seizures, NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig.-Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), urged personnel across the country to sustain the momentum in reducing drug supply while intensifying public awareness efforts against substance abuse.
