…NDLEA Seizes ₦900m Opioid Shipment Disguised As Paracetamol, Arrests Suspects In Nationwide Raids
Daud Olatunji
A 34-year-old Ugandan woman has been arrested by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, after allegedly attempting to smuggle 87 wraps of cocaine concealed around her private parts to Uganda.
The suspect, identified as Farida Nansubuga, was reportedly intercepted on Tuesday, November 3, 2026, while preparing to board a Uganda-bound flight at Terminal 2 of the airport.
The NDLEA said the cocaine, weighing 1.150 kilogrammes, was strapped around her pelvic region and secured beneath two layers of underwear in an attempt to evade airport security screening.
According to the agency, the arrest followed a joint passenger screening operation involving NDLEA operatives and aviation security personnel.
A statement issued on Sunday by the NDLEA Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, said the suspect was flagged during the screening exercise after operatives noticed suspicious concealment around her pelvic region.
She was subsequently taken to a designated private search room, where a secondary examination led to the discovery of the 87 wraps of cocaine.
During preliminary interrogation, Nansubuga reportedly disclosed that she arrived in Nigeria on October 29 with members of her church for a spiritual renewal and prayer programme at the Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN), located in the Ikotun-Egbe area of Lagos.
The agency said the suspect claimed that while other members of her delegation returned to Uganda after the religious programme, she remained in Nigeria to collect a drug consignment allegedly on behalf of a friend identified simply as Joy, who resides in Uganda.
She reportedly told investigators that Joy connected her with an unidentified contact in Nigeria, who arranged transportation to a hotel on the morning of her scheduled departure.
At the hotel, the contact allegedly handed her the cocaine and instructed her to conceal it beneath her clothing to beat airport security checks.
The suspect reportedly claimed that although no definite payment was agreed upon, she expected to receive at least $1,000 after successfully delivering the consignment to Uganda.
In another major interception at the Lagos airport, NDLEA operatives uncovered 750,000 tablets of Tapentadol 250mg, weighing 526 kilogrammes and valued at approximately ₦900m.
The opioid consignment, which arrived from Ahmedabad, India, aboard an Ethiopian Airlines flight on November 3, was allegedly disguised as Paracetamol 500mg tablets.
Babafemi said the shipment, packaged in 11 cartons concealed inside two wooden structures, was placed under surveillance after officers became suspicious of its declaration.
A joint examination involving NDLEA operatives, Nigeria Customs Service officials and other security agencies on Friday, November 6, revealed that 10 of the 11 cartons contained the opioid tablets, while only one carton contained genuine paracetamol.
The agency also reported the interception of 32 parcels of Loud, a potent cannabis strain, weighing 16.15 kilogrammes, concealed inside two wooden sofas imported from Houston, Texas, United States.
The consignment arrived aboard a Turkish Airlines flight on November 4.
A freight agent, identified as Ibrahim Abdulwaheed Adewale, was arrested after presenting himself to clear the shipment.
In a follow-up operation on November 6, NDLEA operatives arrested a 34-year-old Ibadan-based caterer, Adeoye Sarafa Ojo, who allegedly arrived to collect the package.
Ojo reportedly claimed that he was sent by a friend, identified as Taiwo Anuoluwapo Olusegun.
The agency further disclosed that it had dismantled a syndicate allegedly involved in importing chemicals used in producing Colorado, a synthetic cannabis, from the United Kingdom.
According to the statement, operatives intercepted nine parcels of illicit substances concealed inside two cartons of snacks bearing the label “Michael Tea Guy” in a consolidated cargo that arrived aboard an Air Peace flight on October 23.
Two of the parcels contained 1.20 kilogrammes of cannabis, while forensic examination of the remaining seven reportedly confirmed that they contained chemicals used in manufacturing synthetic cannabis.
A 51-year-old freight agent, Afolabi Abiodun Wale, was arrested while attempting to clear the consignment.
Two additional cartons reportedly intended for the same recipient subsequently arrived from the UK aboard an Allied Air flight.
A sting operation conducted between October 26 and 28 led to the arrest of another suspect, Okwuite Benjamin Ojone, 51, when he allegedly attempted to take delivery of the cartons.
A search reportedly uncovered three parcels weighing 3.30 kilogrammes concealed inside detergent packs and 11 plastic bottles containing mostly liquid substances weighing 16.25 kilogrammes.
The NDLEA said the seizures brought the total quantity of synthetic cannabis production chemicals recovered in the operation to 28.65 kilogrammes.
At courier companies in Lagos, operatives also intercepted 46 blocks of cannabis weighing 22.2 kilogrammes, allegedly packaged for shipment to the United Kingdom on November 3.
The agency added that it had earlier intercepted 296 tablets of Swinol destined for Australia, as well as three separate tramadol shipments heading to the UK.
The tramadol consignments included 20 capsules from Benin City and 96 capsules from Sapele, Delta State, concealed inside vitamin C containers, while another 600 tablets of Tramadol 225mg from Asaba were hidden in female headwear.
In another operation in Lagos, a 32-year-old suspect, Abubakar Ali, was arrested at Marine Beach, Apapa, on November 6, following the discovery of a drug storage facility allegedly constructed inside the sitting room of his apartment.
Items recovered included 1.06 kilogrammes of Tramadol 250mg, 1.27 kilogrammes of Tramadol 225mg, 400 grammes of pregabalin capsules, 355 grammes of diazepam, 200 millilitres of codeine and 6.07 kilogrammes of cannabis.
The anti-narcotics agency also recorded major seizures across several states.
In Ondo State, operatives recovered 148 bags of cannabis weighing 1,818 kilogrammes during a raid on Odofin Road, Uso, on November 6.
On the same day, officers raided a cannabis farm in Board Forest, where they destroyed a one-hectare plantation, recovered 242 kilogrammes of the substance and arrested a 36-year-old suspect, Itoro Linus Akpan.
In neighbouring Ekiti State, a 53-year-old man, Agbo Paul Peter, was arrested at Osin Forest, Osin-Ekiti, on November 5, with 216 kilogrammes of cannabis and cannabis seeds.
Similarly, in Edo State, NDLEA operatives intercepted a Volkswagen Golf saloon car allegedly loaded with 19 bags of cannabis weighing 201 kilogrammes along the Auchi-Ibillo Road in Akoko-Edo Local Government Area.
The driver, Abdulmumid Isah, 39, and a passenger, Danako Godwin, 25, were arrested.
Three other suspects were apprehended during a raid on a suspected drug joint on Ihama Road, GRA, Benin City, where quantities of Colorado, Loud and cannabis were recovered.
The suspects were identified as Emmanuel Sunday, 25; Samuel Bala, 31; and Loveth Momodu, 20.
In Taraba State, operatives on stop-and-search duty at the agency’s checkpoint in Lankaviri, Yorro Local Government Area, arrested three suspects within two days with 283 compressed blocks of cannabis weighing 226.255 kilogrammes.
The suspects were identified as Ibrahim Abdullahi, 45, who was arrested with 156 blocks weighing 149.275 kilogrammes; Kabiru Usman, 25, found with 80 blocks weighing 40.07 kilogrammes; and Babangida Babayo, 32, who was intercepted with 47 blocks weighing 36.91 kilogrammes.
In Enugu State, a 57-year-old suspect, Celestine Uzochukwu Ejiakor, was arrested at the Eke Obinagu checkpoint on November 3 with 44 blocks of cannabis weighing 22.5 kilogrammes.
Another suspect, Godwin Shaapera, 40, was arrested at the Ugwuoba checkpoint with 24,000 capsules of tramadol weighing 13.4 kilogrammes and 697 grammes of ketamine.
In Delta State, operatives arrested a 30-year-old suspect, Edugua Othuke, at Ozoro, Isoko North Local Government Area, with 10.54 kilogrammes of skunk, 9.4 kilogrammes of cannabis seeds and 4.3 grammes of methamphetamine on October 31.
Another suspect, Akpofure Tobore, 34, was apprehended at Upper Agbarho, Ughelli, on November 4, with quantities of skunk, tramadol, Rohypnol and nitrous oxide, popularly known as laughing gas.
The NDLEA said the arrests and seizures formed part of its intensified nationwide operations against drug trafficking, illicit drug distribution and the activities of international narcotics syndicates.
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