Maureen Edozie in Enugu
A 25-year-old newlywed businessman, Lovely Chukwulobelu, has been arrested at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu, for allegedly attempting to traffic 72 wraps of cocaine to Portugal.
Penpushing reports that the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) said the suspect resorted to drug trafficking to offset expenses incurred during his wedding held on September 13, 2026.
The Director, Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, in a statement on Sunday said the suspect, who resides in Portugal, was intercepted by the agency operatives at the departure hall of the Enugu airport on Thursday, September 25, while attempting to board an Ethiopian Airlines flight to Portugal via Addis Ababa.
Penpushing further reports that Babafemi said the suspect was found with cocaine concealed in his stomach and was wearing his wedding ring when he was arrested, and was subsequently placed under excretion observation, during which he egested a total of 72 wraps of cocaine.
” The groom was intercepted by NDLEA officers at the departure hall of the Enugu airport on Thursday, 25th September 2026, with cocaine in his gut and a wedding ring on his finger, while he attempted to board an Ethiopian Airlines flight to Portugal via Addis Ababa. He was subsequently placed under excretion observation during which he egested a total of 72 wraps of the Class A illicit drug’, the statement read.
“The suspect, who claimed he was into the car decoration business at the Trade Fair Complex, Ojo area of Lagos before he relocated to Portugal in May 2023, said he returned to Nigeria recently to get married on 13th September 2026’, it added.
Penpushing also reports that Babafemi stated that the suspect resorted to the criminal trade to offset expenses incurred during his wedding, adding that 2,550,000 pills of Tramakings 225mg and 250mg, and Royal Tapentadol 250mg were recovered at the import shed of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.
The agency spokesperson said the drugs, weighing 1,640.55kg, were uncovered during a joint examination of three monitored consignments imported from India and Bangladesh through Qatar Airways, RwandAir and Ethiopian Airlines.
Penpushing reports that he added that in Bauchi State operatives arrested two suspects, Umar Hamidu, 35, and Abdulkarim Salihu, 45, with 300 compressed blocks of skunk weighing 262.5kg, adding that the cannabis was concealed in the false bottom of a truck marked MUB757 YH along the Maiduguri bypass.
The statement stated that in similar vein, two cannabis farms with a combined estimated yield of 1,360.23kg were destroyed at Eko Camp, Ilushi, Edo State, by agency officers supported by soldiers.
Penpushing further reports that Babafemi explained that in Lagos, two women, Odumabo Kehinde, 36, and Obiekwe Chioma, 40, were arrested at Anifowoshe Street, Mushin, with 3.4kg of skunk.
The agency added that another suspect, Ugwu Johnson, 58, was intercepted at Ebute-Ero motor park with 5.920kg of skunk, 2,400 ampoules of pentazocine injection, 8,400 tablets of nitrazepam and 40,000 pills of tramadol.
Penpushing also reports that in Oyo State, two Togolese nationals, Yinusa Abdulsamad, 35, and Fatai Baba, 33, were arrested along the Iganna-Ilero road with 305.6kg of skunk concealed in two pickup vans.
The Director, Media and Advocacy of the agency said the suspects were allegedly involved in a cross-border trafficking racket moving Ghanaian-sourced cannabis into Nigeria through the Oyo axis.
Penpushing reports that Babafemi said five suspects were also arrested with 420 cartons of nitrous oxide, popularly known as laughing gas, weighing 1,688.4kg. at the Seme border in Badagry, Lagos
The statement identified the suspects as Kingsley John, 40; John Okeke, 44; Lamidi Ismaila, 40; Babatunde Samuel, 42; and Afeesu Idowu, 47, adding that two vehicles used to convey the consignment from the border into Lagos were also seized.
Penpushing further reports that Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of the agency, Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), commended the officers and men of the MMIA, AIIA, Lagos, Oyo, Edo, Seme and Bauchi Commands for the operations.
Meanwhile, the Chairman urged them and their colleagues across the country to sustain the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) ongoing balanced approach to drug control efforts.
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