Bridegroom excretes 72 wraps of cocaine at Enugu airport, NDLEA intercepts N3bn opioids
A 25-year-old newlywed businessman, Lovely Chukwulobelu, has been arrested by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency for allegedly ingesting 72 wraps of cocaine in an attempt to traffic the drug to Portugal.
Chukwulobelu was arrested on Thursday, September 25, 2026, at the departure hall of the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu, while preparing to board an Ethiopian Airlines flight to Portugal through Addis Ababa.
According to the NDLEA, the suspect was placed under excretion observation after officers detected that he had ingested cocaine. He subsequently excreted all 72 wraps of the Class A illicit drug.
The agency said the suspect, who had a wedding ring on his finger when arrested, claimed he was a car decorator at the Trade Fair Complex, Ojo, Lagos, before relocating to Portugal in May 2023.
He reportedly returned to Nigeria recently and got married on September 13, but allegedly turned to drug trafficking to offset expenses incurred during the wedding.
The arrest was among several major drug seizures and arrests recorded by the NDLEA across the country in the past week.
At the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, NDLEA operatives on Tuesday, September 22, seized 2,550,000 pills of tramaking 225mg, tramaking 250mg and Royal Tapentadol 250mg, weighing a combined 1,640.55kg.
The agency described the seizure as one of its biggest opioid hauls of the year. The drugs were discovered during a joint examination of three monitored consignments imported from India and Bangladesh through Qatar Airways, RwandAir and Ethiopian Airlines.
In Bauchi State, operatives arrested Umar Hamidu, 35, and Abdulkarim Salihu, 45, along the Maiduguri bypass with 300 compressed blocks of skunk weighing 262.5kg.
The cannabis was allegedly concealed in a false compartment of a truck marked MUB757 YH.
In Edo State, NDLEA officers, supported by soldiers, also destroyed two cannabis farms at Eko Camp, Ilushi, with a combined estimated yield of 1,360.23kg.
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Meanwhile, two women, Odumabo Kehinde, 36, and Obiekwe Chioma, 40, were arrested during a raid on Anifowoshe Street, Mushin, Lagos, on Saturday. Operatives recovered 3.4kg of skunk from them.
At Ebute-Ero motor park in Lagos on the same day, NDLEA officers arrested 58-year-old Ugwu Johnson and recovered 5.920kg of skunk, 2,400 ampoules of pentazocine injection, 8,400 tablets of nitrazepam and 40,000 pills of tramadol.
In Oyo State, two Togolese nationals, Yinusa Abdulsamad, 35, and Fatai Baba, 33, were arrested along the Iganna-Ilero road, Iganna, with 305.6kg of skunk allegedly concealed in two pick-up vans.
The NDLEA said the suspects were involved in a cross-border trafficking operation through which cannabis sourced from Ghana was moved into Nigeria through the Oyo axis.
At the Seme border in Badagry, Lagos State, five suspects were also arrested with 420 cartons of nitrous oxide, commonly known as laughing gas, weighing 1,688.4kg.
The suspects were identified as Kingsley John, 40; John Chibuike Okeke, 44; Lamidi Ismaila, 40; Babatunde Samuel, 42; and Afeesu Idowu, 47. Two vehicles allegedly used to convey the consignment from the border into Lagos were also seized.
Beyond enforcement operations, the agency said its commands and formations nationwide sustained its War Against Drug Abuse sensitisation campaigns in schools, worship centres, workplaces and communities.
The campaigns were held at Community High School, Saki, Oyo State; Auchi College, Auchi, Edo State; Alkali Modibbo Islamic Centre, Dukku, Gombe State; and Junior Arabic Secondary School, Kahu, Kibiya Local Government Area of Kano State.
The Delta Ports Command also paid a WADA advocacy visit to the Olu of Warri, His Royal Majesty Ogiame Atuwatshe III, in Delta State.
Commending the officers involved in the operations, the NDLEA Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), urged personnel across the country to sustain what he described as the agency’s balanced approach to drug control.
He commended officers and men of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Lagos, Oyo, Edo, Seme and Bauchi Commands for their operations and urged them to maintain the momentum.
By PRNigeria
