NDLEA smashes drug ring, uncovers Cocaine, Tramadol hidden in car mirrors

By Kazeem Ugbodaga

Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have intercepted a major drug smuggling attempt involving cocaine and high-dose tramadol concealed in vehicle parts and cosmetics at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos.

This is contained in a statement issued by NDLEA’s spokesman, Femi Babafemi on Sunday.

He said the coordinated operations, which disrupted drug trafficking routes to Gabon and Equatorial Guinea, led to multiple arrests and the recovery of significant quantities of illicit substances.

In the first operation, he disclosed that NDLEA agents discovered 71 vehicle side mirrors packed with narcotics, bound for Libreville, Gabon, through the export shed of the airport.

Babafemi said the seizure, made on Saturday, July 19, 2025, involved 57,420 pills of tramadol 225mg and 57 pellets of cocaine weighing 1.60kg.

He added that the consignment, which was being exported via Air Côte d’Ivoire, was linked to a known cargo agent, Ihekweme Osinachi Benedict, who was arrested at the scene.

“Further investigations led to the arrest of another suspect, Uzochukwu Godspower Chukwurah, on Sunday, July 20. A subsequent raid on Uzochukwu’s residence uncovered four additional vehicle mirrors containing 11 more parcels of cocaine weighing 1kg. This brought the total haul from the operation to 68 cocaine parcels with a combined weight of 2.60kg,” he stated.

In a separate but related case, Babafemi said NDLEA officers arrested a businesswoman, Mrs. Nwafor Roseann Nneka, at her cosmetics shop located within the Trade Fair Complex, Ojo, Lagos, on Friday, August 1.

According to him, her arrest followed the earlier interception of drug-laced lipstick containers intended for export to Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, through the airport’s export shed on July 10, 2025.

“Concealed within the lipstick tubes were 100 grams of cocaine and 300 grams of phenacetine, a common cutting agent. Two cargo agents linked to the shipment were apprehended prior to Nneka’s arrest.

“During interrogation, she confessed to purchasing the lipsticks used in the concealment, while revealing that her husband, Remigus Nwafor, currently at large, was responsible for concealing the drugs,’ he said.