By Lizzy Chirkpi
A 25-year-old newlywed businessman, Lovely Chukwulobelu, has been arrested by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport (AIIA), Enugu, after allegedly ingesting 72 wraps of cocaine destined for Portugal.
Chukwulobelu, who was wearing a wedding ring when he was intercepted, was arrested at the airport’s departure hall on Thursday, September 25, 2026, while attempting to board an Ethiopian Airlines flight to Portugal via Addis Ababa.
The suspect was subsequently placed under excretion observation and later expelled all 72 wraps of the Class A illicit drug.
According to the NDLEA, Chukwulobelu claimed he previously worked in car decoration at the Trade Fair Complex, Ojo, Lagos, before relocating to Portugal in May 2023.
The agency said he recently returned to Nigeria and got married on September 13, 2026, but allegedly ventured into drug trafficking to offset expenses incurred during the wedding.
Meanwhile, the NDLEA said its operatives intercepted 2,550,000 tablets of various opioids weighing 1,640.55kg at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos.
The seizure, described by the agency as one of the biggest opioid hauls of the year, was made on Tuesday, September 22, during a joint examination of three monitored consignments at the airport’s import shed.
The consignments contained Tramaking 225mg, Tramaking 250mg and Royal Tapentadol 250mg. They were imported from India and Bangladesh through Qatar Airways, RwandAir and Ethiopian Airlines.
In Bauchi State, NDLEA operatives arrested two suspects, Umar Hamidu, 35, and Abdulkarim Salihu, 45, with 300 compressed blocks of skunk weighing 262.5kg.
The cannabis was allegedly concealed in a false compartment of a truck marked MUB757 YH along the Maiduguri bypass.
In Edo State, NDLEA officers, supported by soldiers, destroyed two cannabis farms at Eko Camp, Ilushi, with an estimated combined yield of 1,360.23kg.
In Lagos, two women, Odumabo Kehinde, 36, and Obiekwe Chioma, 40, were arrested during a raid on Anifowoshe Street, Mushin, on Saturday, September 26, with 3.4kg of skunk.
On the same day, operatives intercepted a 58-year-old man, Ugwu Johnson, at Ebute-Ero motor park and recovered 5.920kg of skunk, 2,400 ampoules of pentazocine injection, 8,400 tablets of nitrazepam and 40,000 pills of tramadol from him.
In Oyo State, two Togolese nationals, Yinusa Abdulsamad, 35, and Fatai Baba, 33, were arrested along the Iganna-Ilero road in Iganna with 305.6kg of skunk.
The NDLEA said the cannabis was concealed in two pickup vans allegedly being used in a cross-border trafficking operation to move Ghana-sourced cannabis into Nigeria through the Oyo axis.
At the Seme border in Badagry, Lagos, five suspects were also arrested with 420 cartons of nitrous oxide, popularly 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 transport the consignment from the border into Lagos were also recovered.
Beyond arrests and seizures, NDLEA Commands and formations across the country sustained their War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation campaigns during the week.
The campaigns were held in schools, worship centres, workplaces and communities, including 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 His Royal Majesty, Ogiame Atuwatshe III, the Olu of Warri, Delta State.
Commending officers and men of the MMIA, AIIA, Lagos, Oyo, Edo, Seme and Bauchi Commands for the operations, NDLEA Chairman, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Marwa (rtd.), urged them and their colleagues nationwide to sustain the agency’s balanced approach to drug control.
Marwa called for continued efforts against drug trafficking and abuse while maintaining the agency’s preventive and sensitisation programmes.