Two brothers were arrested at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) in Lagos by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) for attempting to smuggle 5 kilograms of cocaine concealed within the walls of their suitcases.
The suspects, John Abugu (43) and Kenneth Abugu (31), were apprehended on Thursday, April 3, while preparing to board a flight to India, claiming they were traveling for medical treatment.
According to Femi Babafemi, the NDLEA Director of Media and Advocacy, the agency’s operatives conducted a thorough search of the brothers’ luggage and found a whitish powdery substance, which was later confirmed to be cocaine, hidden in the lining of their bags.
“The two brothers were arrested at Lagos airport on Thursday, April 3, 2025, following proactive processing of credible intelligence,” he stated.
“They claimed they were traveling to India for medical treatment, but when NDLEA officers thoroughly searched their suitcases, they discovered the cocaine concealed within them.”
In a related operation, NDLEA operatives in Kogi State arrested a 33-year-old woman named Ngozi Ogili while she was transporting 3 kilograms of methamphetamine from Lagos to Abuja.
She was apprehended in a commercial transport bus along the Okene-Lokoja highway on Monday, March 31, 2025. A follow-up operation at her delivery point in the Apo mechanic area of Abuja resulted in the seizure of quantities of Loud and Colorado, both synthetic strains of cannabis.
Additionally, the NDLEA reported the seizure of no fewer than 381 bottles of codeine syrup and 108 tablets of tramadol from a suspect named Abdullahi Adamu, along the Potiskum-Damaturu Road in Yobe State on Saturday, April 5, 2025.
The agency added that a raid conducted at the Osogbo motor park in Onitsha and a house in Oba, located in the Idemili Local Government Area of Anambra State, led to the arrest of Obinna Sunday and the seizure of 195,000 pills of tramadol. During the same operation, Ugochukwu Ojalanonye was also arrested with 4.2 kilograms of codeine syrup and 5.4 kilograms of pentazocine.
In the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), NDLEA operatives arrested 51-year-old Sunday Ayogu on April 3 during a raid at Wuse market, where they seized 25 kilograms of skunk and 90.4 grams of methamphetamine. Two women, Faith Effiong Etim (64) and Victoria Asuquo Etim (40), were arrested on April 4 when NDLEA operatives, supported by the Nigerian Army, raided cannabis plantations in the Esuk-Odot community of Odukpani LGA in Cross River State, where 250,000 kilograms of the psychoactive plant were destroyed across more than 100 hectares of farmland.
