The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a 55-year-old businessman, Onuigbo Chinedu over an attempt to export 3.30 kilograms of cocaine concealed in walls of cartons used to package foodstuffs going to the United kingdom.
Chinedu who deals in clothing at the popular Balogun market, Lagos Island was arrested on Thursday 23rd July 2026 following the interception of his cocaine consignment at the export shed of the Lagos airport the previous day, Wednesday 22nd July by NDLEA operatives.
Its spokesperson, Femi Babafemi in a statement issued Sunday said in the course of investigation, three cargo agents: Nkwor Justina; Adeleke Taoheed; and Ukanwa Pilgrim, who handled the shipment were initially arrested leading to the arrest Kenneth Okakpu who delivered the consignment to the cargo agents for shipment to the UK.
He added that Okakpu’s arrest provided the lead to identifying Onuigbo as the kingpin behind the syndicate and his eventual arrest while attempting to send another consignment of cocaine to the UK.
In another interdiction operation at the Lagos airport, Babafemi added that a total of 2,240,000,000 pills of Tapentadol 250mg worth over N2.2 billion in street value were recovered from a shipment from India aboard an Air Maroc flight during a joint examination of the cargo on Friday 24th July.
The exercise, according to him, was based on an intelligence received and processed by NDLEA.
This came on the heels of the seizure of a consignment of tramadol buried in containers of black soap heading to the UK.
Babafemi added that the shipment was intercepted by NDLEA operatives at a courier firm in Lagos on Wednesday 22nd July.
“At the Apapa seaport in Lagos, a container of three vehicles used to conceal a total number of 4,777 sachets of Canadian Loud weighing 2,388.5kg worth over N7.1 billion in street value, was uncovered during a joint examination of the shipment on Monday 20th July,” he said.
Babafemi stressed that a suspect, Mustapha Sani, 30, was on Wednesday 22nd July nabbed by NDLEA operatives
on patrol operation at Baure, Safana LGA, Katsina state where he was found with 323 rounds of military grade ammunition consisting of 200 pieces of 7.62mm and 123 rounds of 7.6mm neatly concealed.
Another suspect, Abubakar Amadu, 30, was arrested by NDLEA officers on stop and search operation at Jere, along Abuja-Kaduna expressway where he was found with 73 RLA, 7.62mm ammunition hidden in kegs of red oil. Both suspects have been handed over to the relevant security agency for further investigation.