The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has apprehended a 59-year-old businessman, Ezeokoli Sylva, at Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, for smuggling 700 grams of cocaine concealed in his stomach.
The arrest occurred on Friday, November 29, 2024, at the E-Arrival Hall of the airport as Sylva returned from Sao Paulo, Brazil, via an Ethiopian Airlines flight through Addis Ababa. The NDLEA spokesperson disclosed on Sunday that a body scan confirmed the suspect had ingested foreign objects. Under excretion observation, he expelled 29 wraps of cocaine weighing 700 grams.
Sylva, who claimed to operate an African store in Brazil selling provisions, shoes, and clothes, admitted to purchasing the illicit drugs in Sao Paulo with plans to sell them in Nigeria to raise capital for his business.
In a separate operation, the NDLEA intercepted two drug consignments intended for the UK on Tuesday, November 26. The shipments contained 200 grams of cocaine hidden in local fabrics and 110 grams of pentazocine injection disguised in cartons.
Additional arrests and seizures were made across the country. In Kano, operatives arrested three suspects—Jamilu Adamu, Umar Musa, and Bunu Ali—on November 28 with 2,000 ampoules of pentazocine and over three million pills of Exol-5. Meanwhile, 2,120 kilograms of “Ghanaian Loud,” a potent strain of cannabis, was confiscated at Ilesan Beach in Lagos on the same day, leading to the arrest of one suspect and the recovery of four vehicles.
Earlier in the week, another 472 kilograms of the same drug were seized in Ogun State.
In Edo State, a raid on November 28 led to the arrest of two suspects, Monday Onyenemue and Evans Omogiede, and the seizure of 185.6 kilograms of cannabis alongside a Toyota Previa van used for transportation.
The NDLEA also continued its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) campaign, delivering sensitization lectures in schools, worship centers, workplaces, and marketplaces across the country.
Commending the agency’s operatives for their successes, NDLEA Chairman Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd) praised the balanced approach to reducing drug supply and demand, emphasizing the importance of the agency’s relentless efforts in curbing drug abuse and trafficking nationwide.
