NDLEA Arrests Businessman with 95 Cocaine Pellets at Kano Airport

Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a 62-year-old Lagos-based businessman, Nwabueze Izueke, at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano State, for attempting to traffic cocaine to China.

Izueke was intercepted during the outward clearance of passengers travelling to China via Addis Ababa on Ethiopian Airlines flight ET940 on Saturday, January 31, 2026. A statement issued on Sunday by the NDLEA spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, said the suspect was subjected to a body scan, which confirmed that he had ingested illicit drugs.

While placed under observation, Izueke reportedly excreted 95 jumbo-sized pellets of cocaine in seven batches. The drugs, classified as Class A substances, weighed a total of 1.589 kilogrammes.

According to Babafemi, the suspect, who claimed to be involved in clothing and auto spare parts business in Lagos, admitted that he resorted to drug trafficking to raise funds to complete a house he is building in his village, Iwollo, in Enugu State.

The arrest, Babafemi said, was part of a series of nationwide NDLEA operations that led to multiple seizures and arrests across several states.

In Abuja, NDLEA operatives recovered 627.7 kilogrammes of skunk, a strain of cannabis, from a makeshift warehouse at Fums Plaza, Kubwa. Attempts to smuggle methamphetamine concealed in MP3 speakers from Enugu to Abuja and Kaduna were also foiled, leading to the arrest of four suspects.

A follow-up operation in Zuba, FCT, resulted in the arrest of one suspect, Ebube Okeke, while three others Evans Ugwu, Mohammed Eze Arinze and Friday Michael were arrested in Kaduna when they attempted to collect another consignment.

In Taraba State, NDLEA officers intercepted methamphetamine concealed in packs of yoghurt, while in Oyo State, several arrests were recorded, including that of a drug kingpin operating a facility producing synthetic cannabis.

Babafemi added that large quantities of tramadol, skunk and other illicit drugs were also seized during operations in Kwara, Imo, Ondo, Lagos and Enugu states.

In Ibadan, a suspect, Adeniyi Adeola, also known as Prince, was arrested with thousands of ampoules of pentazocine injection and capsules of tramadol, while another suspected drug kingpin, Jimoh Nurudeen, was arrested alongside an accomplice at Badeku, where a synthetic cannabis production facility was uncovered.

In Imo State, a couple was arrested with 203 kilogrammes of skunk, while NDLEA operatives in Ondo State recovered 420 kilogrammes of the same substance concealed in a bush at Ikun Akoko.