KEY POINTS

• NDLEA arrested multiple suspects at Nigerian airports, including couriers who swallowed cocaine pellets for smuggling.
• A jailed trafficker attempted to export drugs from prison using a logistics company.
• Nationwide raids uncovered large quantities of narcotics, cash, vehicles, and a synthetic-drug production site.

Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, have intercepted multiple drug trafficking attempts across Nigeria’s international airports, arresting a China-based businessman and two foreign nationals who excreted dozens of cocaine pellets after ingesting them for smuggling.

According to NDLEA spokesman Femi Babafemi, the suspects were apprehended at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport and the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport during routine screening backed by intelligence reports.

The businessman, travelling on a Qatar Airways flight en route to Asia, was removed from the aircraft for scanning after officers received a tip-off.

He later excreted 52 cocaine pellets weighing over 735 grams while under observation. He told investigators he had previously operated a business in Lagos before relocating to Guangzhou in 2024.

Foreign Couriers Promised Cash Delivery Deal

Two Angolan nationals intercepted in Kano while boarding an Ethiopian Airlines flight to Europe also tested positive for ingested drugs. Under observation, they expelled 184 cocaine pellets combined, weighing more than 2.2 kilograms.

The suspects, both from Luanda, told investigators they were recruited by a spare-parts dealer who promised each of them $3,000 if they successfully delivered the drugs abroad.

In a separate operation, NDLEA officers at the export shed of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport intercepted cocaine hidden inside processed cassava granules (garri) destined for the United Kingdom via Virgin Atlantic.

Investigations revealed that the shipment was orchestrated from inside the Ikoyi Correctional Centre by a convicted trafficker already serving a five-year sentence imposed by the Federal High Court Lagos for a previous drug export case. A logistics employee who presented the parcel for shipment was arrested, exposing the prison-run network.