NDLEA arrests two brothers, UK-based student, others in nationwide drug bust

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested multiple suspects, including two brothers and a UK-based student, for drug trafficking at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos and across several Nigerian states.

The large-scale operation included seizing huge quantities of cocaine, cannabis, methamphetamine, and other illicit substances.

In a statement on Sunday on X, the agency’s spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, identified the two brothers among the suspects as John Abugu, 43, and Kenneth Abugu, 31.

Mr Babafemi said they were apprehended on Thursday while they were trying to board a flight to India.

“The two brothers were arrested at the Lagos airport on Thursday, 3 April, following proactive processing of credible intelligence.

“They claimed they were travelling to India for medical treatment but when their suitcases were thoroughly searched by NDLEA officers, whitish powdery substances later confirmed to be cocaine were discovered on the walls of the bags,” he stated.

UK-based student nabbed with cannabis

The NDLEA also said it arrested a Ghanaian-British national, Parker Osei, at the same airport for drug trafficking.

Mr Osei, 20, who claimed to be a computer science student at the University of East London, was found with 36 parcels of “loud”—a potent strain of cannabis—weighing 19.4 kilogrammes, packed in a large suitcase.

He was arrested on Thursday during the inward clearance of passengers on an Ethiopian Airlines flight from Bangkok, Thailand.

“Upon interrogation, the suspect stated that he left London for Bangkok a week earlier and picked up the drug consignment for delivery in Nigeria,” Mr Babafemi said.

Arrests in Kogi, Abia, Anambra, Yobe, FCT and Cross River

Elsewhere across the country, NDLEA operatives made several arrests and drug seizures.

In Kogi, a 33-year-old woman, Ngozi Ogili, was intercepted on 31 March along the Okene-Lokoja highway while transporting 3 kilograms of methamphetamine from Lagos to Abuja.

A follow-up operation at her delivery point in the Apo Mechanic area of Abuja led to the seizure of quantities of “loud” and “colorado”—both synthetic cannabis strains.

In Abia, 21-year-old David Chinemerem was arrested in Aba with 2,050 ampoules of pentazocine, while a 75-year-old man, Nnanna Felix, was caught with 1.6 kilogrammes of skunk during a raid in Umunteke Asa, Ukwa West Local Government Area.

Further operations in Anambra state led to the arrest of Obinna Sunday in Idemili LGA and the seizure of 195,000 pills of tramadol.

At Osogbo Motor Park, another suspect, Ugochukwu Ojalanonye, was arrested with 4.2 kilograms of codeine syrup and 5.4 kilograms of pentazocine.

In Yobe, NDLEA operatives seized 381 bottles of codeine syrup and 108 tablets of tramadol from Abdullahi Adamu along the Potiskum–Damaturu road on 5 April.

In the Federal Capital Territory, a raid on Wuse Market on 3 April led to the arrest of 51-year-old Sunday Ayogu with 25 kilograms of skunk and 90.4 grams of methamphetamine.

On 4 April, a joint operation with the Nigerian Army in Esuk-Odot community, Odukpani LGA of Cross River State, led to the arrest of two women—64-year-old Faith Effiong Etim and 40-year-old Victoria Asuquo Etim.

The agency said 250,000 kilograms of cannabis were destroyed across more than 100 hectares of farmland during the raid.

WADA sensitisation campaigns continue nationwide

The agency also reported ongoing public awareness efforts under its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) initiative.

“These include sensitisation lectures to students and staff of Cave City Secondary School in Ogidi, Anambra State; residents of Dan’iyau village in Batagarawa LGA, Katsina; and members of the Nigerian Association of Patent and Proprietary Medicine Dealers in Sangere and Kwanan Waya, Yola, Adamawa State,” Mr Babafemi noted.

NDLEA chairperson, Buba Marwa, commended the operatives for their commitment to ridding the country of illicit drugs through strategic intelligence and enforcement operations.

PREMIUM TIMES reported how NDLEA has continued to arrest and prosecute drug offenders in Nigeria.