NDLEA Intercepts Loud in Microwaves, Cocaine in Lipsticks; Arrests Notorious Drug Kingpin

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) continues its aggressive crackdown on drug trafficking, announcing a series of significant seizures and arrests across the country, including the interception of narcotics ingeniously concealed in imported goods.

Operatives at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, intercepted 23 parcels of Loud, a potent strain of cannabis, weighing 11.3 kilograms, hidden within new microwaves imported from Bangkok, Thailand via Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

The consignment, part of a consolidated cargo, was discovered following credible intelligence. A suspect, Ezenwegbu Chike, was arrested in connection with the seizure, which occurred last Monday.

This success follows another significant find at the MMIA export shed. Agents intercepted a cargo destined for Malabo, Guinea, containing cocaine concealed within ladies’ lipsticks.

The shipment, which also included hair attachments and face powder, yielded approximately 400 grams of cocaine and phenacetine, a cutting agent, after the lipsticks were dismantled.

Ezeikwelume Afam, a businessman from the Trade Fair Complex in Ojo, Lagos, was apprehended last Friday in connection with the seizure.

This comes barely a week after 420 grams of cocaine hidden in 84 lipsticks heading to the UK were seized at a courier company in Lagos.

In a major victory for the agency, a notorious drug kingpin, Okechukwu Izugha, also known as Okey Omeogo, was arrested in Lagos last Wednesday.

Izugha had been in hiding for 12 months, but operatives of the NDLEA’s Special Operations Unit (SOU) apprehended him at his wife’s shop in Ijesha market.

Izugha came under NDLEA scrutiny after 9 kilograms of cocaine were recovered from a suspect, Obiora Agudosi, on August 7th, 2024. Agudosi was en route to deliver the consignment in the southeast when he was apprehended, and Izugha was identified as the owner of the drugs.

His wife, Maureen Izugha, was previously arrested with 500 grams of cocaine and subsequently sentenced to two years imprisonment.

Meanwhile, in Edo State, authorities destroyed over 28,054 kilograms of skunk, a local cannabis strain, across 11 hectares of farmland in the Ewere Uzebba forest in Owan West local government area on Tuesday.

During the operation, 82 kilograms of already processed cannabis were also recovered. The NDLEA team came under gunfire from armed cartel members, but were able to repel the attack, although one of their vehicles was damaged.

In Lagos, 1,400 compressed blocks of Ghana Loud, weighing 700 kilograms, and a Ford delivery truck were recovered at Okun-Ajah Beach.

Two suspects, Innocent Ejidiobo and Friday Paul, were arrested along the Ajah-Epe expressway with an additional 26 kilograms of Ghana Loud, 123 grams of methamphetamine, and 45 grams of Molly, along with their delivery van.

Elsewhere in the country, NDLEA operatives in Borno State arrested Godwin Nwaobi with 18,759 ampoules of pentazocine, tramadol pills, and rohypnol in Maiduguri.

In Gombe State, 116,226 pills of tramadol and D-5 were seized from five suspects. In Kogi State, Sabiu Bala was arrested with 316.6 kilograms of skunk, while in Kaduna State, Haladu Suleiman was apprehended with 58.805 kilograms of the same substance.

A petrol tanker was intercepted in Taraba state and three suspects arrested while conveying 577,890 pills of opioids and 1.16 kilograms skunk concealed in tyre compartment of the truck.

In Kano state, three suspects were also apprehended in Janguza barracks area for being in possession of 48.1 kilogrammes skunk.

The agency continues to actively promote its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) social advocacy campaign across the country.

Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (Rtd), commended the officers and men involved in the various operations, praising their commitment to both drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction efforts across the nation.