Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have apprehended a suspect at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) Ikeja, Lagos with 2.20 kilograms of cocaine factory fitted in the walls of her bag.
The anti-narcotics agency disclosed this in a statement issued by its spokesman, Femi Babafemi, on Sunday.
The suspect, 43-year-old female make-up artist, Adekoya Adebukonla Mary, claimed to be travelling to India for a fibroid surgery. She was arrested on Monday 16th June 2025 based on credible intelligence.
Under surveillance, Adekoya was allowed to check in her luggage and arrested at the point of boarding her Qatar Airways flight to India via Doha. When her luggage was searched, two large parcels of cocaine weighing 2.20kg were found concealed in the walls of the suitcase she was carrying.
In her statement, she claimed she embarked on the trip for financial benefits but under the pretext of going to India for surgery to remove fibroid from her stomach. Further investigation revealed the suspect was recruited and funded by a drug baron currently at large, Akeem Ayinde Adekanbi, who owns Rockford Hotel located in Sango area of Ogun state, but resides at Igbe Laara in Igbogbo area of Ikorodu, Lagos state.
Also, at a courier company, operatives of NDLEA’s Directorate of Operations and General Investigation (DOGI) on Wednesday 18th June, uncovered 850grams of cocaine concealed in cloth hangers heading to Australia, while on the following day, at another courier company, operatives intercepted a shipment of sewn female dresses containing 1.3kg Loud, a strong strain of cannabis, going to Bahrain.
In Bauchi state, NDLEA officers acting on credible intelligence on Monday 16th June arrested the duo of Ibrahim Galadima, 37, and Ibrahim Muhammed, 28, along Bauchi-Darazo road from whom a total of One Million and Thirteen Thousand (1,013,000) pills of opioids namely: tramadol, diazepam and exol-5 were recovered.
In Abuja, NDLEA operatives on Wednesday 18th June arrested Murtala Adamu, Ahmed Ismai’l and four others during raid operations at Karu Abbattoir and Torabora areas of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT. They recovered 6.9kg of skunk and 59grams of methamphetamine. The previous day, operatives arrested 38-year-old Bishir Isyaku on Tuesday 17th June at Gwargwaje along Kaduna – Zaria expressway with 14.2kg skunk, a strain of cannabis, concealed in two sacks of charcoal and seven cartons of rubber solution weighing 198kg.
In Kano, NDLEA officers on patrol along Zaria-Kano road on Thursday 19th June arrested 19- year-old Umar Hamisu, and Dahiru Abdullahi, 32, with 56.2kg skunk, while another suspect Obiwuru Henry, 27, was nabbed same day with 23,720 capsules of tramadol and 1,400 ampoules of pentazocine along Jaba road Fagge LGA. Similarly, Abubakar Modu, 60, was nabbed with 36.6kg skunk and Abdulkadir Muhammed, 28, with 32kg of same substance along Zaria-Kano road on Saturday 21st June.
A 22-year-old female Student of Kwara State Polytechnic, Olotin Nifemi, notorious for selling illicit substances to other students, was on Thursday 19th June arrested at her base along Kwara Poly road, Ilorin, with 1kg skunk.
Babafemi further revealed that a total of 4,226.11kg skunk was destroyed at Ugbada camp, Uzebba forest, Owan West LGA, Edo state when NDLEA operatives raided the camp to destroy cannabis farms on Friday 20th June. A suspect, Albert Shamaki, 33, was nabbed during the operation. Operatives had on Thursday 19th June raided the Big Jamaya supermarket at Emado community in Esan West LGA where a suspect Esther Abumere, 28, was arrested. Assorted illicit drugs recovered from her include: Colorado, Loud, Molly, Tramadol and other opioids. Another raid at a provision shop at Idumeka Igueben led to the seizure of 1.143kg skunk and arrest of a female suspect, Eko Gift, 38.
Meanwhile the War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) social advocacy activities by NDLEA Commands equally continued across the country in the past week. Some of them include: WADA sensitization lecture delivered to students and staff of Government Day Arabic Secondary School, Guri, Jigawa; Government College, Lafia, Nasarawa; Atodo Secondary School, Ankpa, Kogi; Natsugunne Junior Secondary School, Jabba, Kano; and Shallom Academy, Ibagwa, Enugu, while the Osun State Command of NDLEA paid a WADA advocacy visit to the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, at his palace in Ile Ife, among others.
Commending the officers and men of MMIA, DOGI, Bauchi, Kaduna, Kano, Kwara, Edo and FCT Commands of the Agency for the arrests and seizures of the past week, Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd) also praised their counterparts in all the commands across the country for pursuing a fair balance between their drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction efforts.
