The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a 43-year-old female make-up artist, Adekoya Adebukonla Mary, who claimed to be travelling to India for fibroid surgery, at the Lagos International Airport, after 2.20 kilograms of cocaine were discovered factory-fitted in the walls of her bag.
A statement by the spokesman of the NDLEA, Mr Femi Babafemi, on Sunday said the suspect was arrested on 16th June 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 fibroid from her stomach. Further investigation revealed that the suspect was recruited and funded by a drug baron currently at large, Akeem Ayinde Adekanbi, who owns Rockford Hotel located in the Sango area of Ogun State, while he lives at Igbe Laara in the Igbogbo area of Ikorodu, Lagos State.
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At a courier company in Lagos, NDLEA operatives of the Directorate of Operation and General Investigation (DOGI) on 19th June intercepted a shipment of sewn female dresses containing 1.3kg Loud, a strong strain of cannabis, going to Bahrain. At another courier firm the previous day, 18th June, operatives uncovered 850 grams of cocaine concealed in cloth hangers heading to Australia.
In Bauchi State, Babafemi said NDLEA officers, acting on credible intelligence on 16th June, arrested the duo of Ibrahim Galadima and Ibrahim Muhammed along Bauchi-Darazo road, and a total of 1,013,000 pills of opioids—namely tramadol, diazepam, and exol-5—were recovered from them.
While 38-year-old Bishir Isyaku was nabbed on 17th June 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 18th June 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 State, NDLEA officers on patrol along Zaria-Kano road on Thursday arrested Umar Hamisu and Dahiru Abdullahi with 56.2kg skunk, while another suspect, Obiwuru Henry, 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 was arrested with 36.6kg skunk and Abdulkadir Muhammed with 32kg of the same substance along Zaria-Kano road on Saturday.
A 22-year-old female student of Kwara State Polytechnic, Olotin Nifemi, notorious for selling illicit substances to other students, was also arrested on Thursday at her base along Kwara Poly Road, Ilorin, with 1kg skunk.
The NDLEA statement also added that 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, and one suspect, Albert Shamaki, was arrested during the operation.
Operatives had on 19th June raided the Big Jamaya supermarket at Emado community in Esan West LGA, where a suspect, Esther Abumere, was arrested and assorted illicit drugs recovered.
Illicit substances seized include 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.
While commending the officers and men of Lagos International Airport, DOGI, and the Bauchi, Kaduna, Kano, Kwara, Edo, and FCT Commands of the agency for the arrests and seizures of the past week, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA, Brig-Gen. Mohamed Marwa (Rtd), also praised their counterparts in all the commands across the country for pursuing a fair balance between their drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction efforts.
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