From Godwin Tsa, Abuja
Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a 43-year-old female make-up artist, Adekoya Adebukonla Mary, who claimed to be travelling to India for fibroid surgery, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos, after 2.20 kilograms of cocaine were discovered factory-fitted in the walls of her bag.
The suspect was arrested on Monday, June 16, 2025, based on credible intelligence. Under surveillance, Adekoya was allowed to check in her luggage and was 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 a 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 while he lives at Igbe Laara in Igbogbo area of Ikorodu, Lagos State.
At a courier company in Lagos, NDLEA operatives of the Directorate of Operation and General Investigation (DOGI) on Thursday, June 19, intercepted a shipment of sewn female dresses containing 1.3kg Loud, a strong strain of cannabis, going to Bahrain, while at another courier firm the previous day, Wednesday, June 18, operatives uncovered 850 grams of cocaine concealed in cloth hangers heading to Australia.
In Bauchi State, NDLEA officers acting on credible intelligence on Monday, June 16, arrested the duo of Ibrahim Galadima, 37, and Ibrahim Muhammed, 28, along Bauchi-Darazo road. A total of 1,013,000 pills of opioids, namely tramadol, diazepam, and exol-5, were recovered from them.
On Tuesday, June 17, 38-year-old Bishir Isyaku was nabbed 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. NDLEA operatives in Abuja on Wednesday, June 18, arrested Murtala Adamu, Ahmed Ismai’l, and four others during raid operations at Karu Abattoir and Torabora areas of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT. Recovered from them were 6.9kg skunk and 59 grams of methamphetamine.
In Kano, NDLEA officers on patrol along Zaria–Kano road on Thursday, June 19, arrested Umar Hamisu, 19, and Dahiru Abdullahi, 32, with 56.2kg skunk, while another suspect, Obiwuru Henry, 27, was nabbed the 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 the same substance along Zaria–Kano road on Saturday, June 21.
A 22-year-old female student of Kwara State Polytechnic, Olotin Nifemi, notorious for selling illicit substances to other students, was arrested on Thursday, June 19, at her base along Kwara Poly road, Ilorin, with 1kg skunk.
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, June 20. A suspect, Albert Shamaki, 33, was nabbed during the operation. Operatives had on Thursday, June 19, raided the Big Jamaya supermarket at Emado community in Esan West LGA, where a suspect, Esther Abumere, 28, was arrested and assorted illicit drugs recovered, including 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 the arrest of a female suspect, Eko Gift, 38.
The War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) social advocacy activities by NDLEA Commands continued across the country in the past week. Some included WADA sensitisation lectures 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.
While 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 and Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), also praised their counterparts in all commands across the country for pursuing a fair balance between their drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction efforts.