The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has arrested 46-year-old Ofoma Sunday, who returned from Brazil, after he excreted 111 wraps of heroin under observation at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.
In a statement on Sunday, Femi Babafemi, spokesperson of the NDLEA, said the drugs weighed 1.452 kilograms and were expelled in eight rounds.
“Ofoma was intercepted on Tuesday, 16 September, upon his arrival from Brazil on an Ethiopian Airlines flight. Investigations showed he left Nigeria on 3 September to courier heroin back to Lagos in exchange for $2,500,” the statement read.
According to NDLEA, operatives later traced him to Eliata Hotel, Amuwo Odofin, Lagos, where he was expected to meet his handler, 55-year-old Nweke Jude Chukwudi, assigned to oversee the excretion and collection of the consignment.
The anti-narcotics agency also said another returnee from Brazil, 39-year-old Ukachukwu Frank Ikechukwu, was arrested on Friday, 19 September, during inward clearance of Ethiopian Airlines passengers. He expelled five wraps of cocaine weighing 145 grams.
“Ukachukwu admitted he bought nine wraps of cocaine in Brazil and inserted them into his anus. He said he removed two after suffering severe pain while transiting in Addis Ababa and flushed them. Two more slipped out mid-flight, leaving him with five when he landed in Lagos,” the NDLEA said.
Further checks revealed that Ukachukwu had lived in the United States before being deported in 2022 over immigration offences. He reportedly secured residency in Brazil in 2025 before venturing into drug smuggling.
In another case, operatives stopped 38-year-old Okolonkwo Ebere Theresa at MMIA Terminal 2 on Sunday, 14 September, as she tried to board a Qatar Airways flight to Doha. She concealed 1.40 kilograms of methamphetamine inside her butt pad underwear.
She confessed during interrogation that she runs a thrift clothing trade and POS business in Enugu before being lured into drug trafficking.
The NDLEA also uncovered other drug shipments in Lagos, including 40 wraps of methamphetamine (2.3kg) hidden in food items bound for Hong Kong, and 257 grams of cocaine concealed in seven phone chargers heading to New Zealand.
Large seizures were also recorded across states. In Adamawa, 233,800 tramadol pills were recovered in three raids. In Zamfara, 109 bags of cannabis weighing 1,099.4kg were seized along Gummi-Daki Takwas road. In Yobe, two suspects were caught with 14,000 tramadol capsules on Damaturu-Potiskum road. In Taraba, a 28-year-old man was arrested with three sacks of skunk weighing 25.5kg. In Edo, NDLEA destroyed two cannabis farms covering 4.5 hectares, with an estimated yield of 11,330kg. Three suspects were arrested.
Reacting to the arrests, NDLEA Chairman, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd.), praised the officers for their work.
“These arrests and seizures show our strong resolve to break drug trafficking networks targeting our youth. We will not allow them to destroy lives or tarnish Nigeria’s image,” Marwa said.
He urged NDLEA officers across the country to maintain their momentum in dismantling cartels.
