China-bound drug dealer caught with 95 Cocaine wraps inside Stomach

By Kazeem Ugbodaga

A China-bound auto parts dealer, Nwabueze Nicholas Izueke, has been arrested at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano, after ingesting 95 jumbo wraps of cocaine weighing 1.589 kilograms, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has disclosed.

NDLEA’s Director, Media & Advocacy, Femi Babafemi in a statement on Sunday, said the 62-year-old Lagos-based businessman was arrested on Saturday, January 31, 2026, during the outward clearance of passengers travelling to China via Addis Ababa on Ethiopian Airlines flight ET940.

Babafemi said the suspect was taken for a body scan after raising suspicion, which confirmed that he had ingested illicit drugs.

He added that Izueke was immediately placed under excretion observation.

“While under observation, the suspect expelled a total of 95 pellets of cocaine in seven excretions,” Babafemi said.

He said Izueke, who claimed to be into clothing and auto spare parts business in Lagos, admitted in his statement that he ventured into drug trafficking to raise funds to complete a building project at his country home in Iwollo, Enugu State.

Babafemi also disclosed that NDLEA operatives in the Federal Capital Territory recovered 627.7 kilograms of skunk, a strain of cannabis, from a makeshift warehouse at Fums Plaza, Kubwa.

He said the agency equally foiled an attempt to smuggle consignments of methamphetamine concealed in MP3 speakers from Enugu to Abuja and Kaduna.

According to him, the consignments were intercepted in a bus in Abuja on Friday, February 6, leading to a follow-up operation in Zuba, FCT, where Ebube Okeke, owner of one of the parcels containing 173 grams of meth, was arrested.

He added that Evans Ugwu, Mohammed Eze Arinze and Friday Michael were arrested the following day in Kaduna when they arrived to collect the second consignment weighing 28 grams of meth.

Babafemi said NDLEA officers at the Dan-Anacha patrol point in Gassol Local Government Area of Taraba State intercepted a suspect, Yusuf Abubakar, 32, who was conveying packs of Hollandia yoghurt from Lagos to Mubi, Adamawa State.

“Acting on intelligence, officers searched the yoghurt packs and discovered wraps of white powdery substance that tested positive to methamphetamine, weighing 1.8 kilograms,” he said.

In Oyo State, Babafemi said NDLEA operatives arrested a Beninoise, Shuaibu Abdulrahman, 29, at Ibudo-Igboho village, Sooro Kishi, where 149.6 kilograms of skunk concealed in rice shafts were recovered.

He added that in a separate operation in Ibadan, a suspect, Adeniyi Adeola, also known as Prince, was arrested at Foko, Agbeni Market, with 10,820 ampoules of pentazocine injection and 117,820 capsules of tramadol recovered from his truck.

Babafemi further disclosed that a drug kingpin, Jimoh Nurudeen, 40, who operates a facility producing Colorado, a synthetic cannabis, was arrested at Badeku area of Ibadan alongside his accomplice, Ogundipe Yusuf, 27.

He said items recovered from them included eight litres of precursor chemical, 14 grams of skunk, paraphernalia used for Colorado production, a cash exhibit of ₦7,408,400, and two vehicles — a Mercedes-Benz SUV and a Toyota Highlander.

In Kwara State, Babafemi said NDLEA operatives intercepted a fuel tanker travelling from Lagos to Maiduguri on Saturday, February 7, where a search led to the recovery of 395,400 capsules of tramadol concealed within the petrol-laden truck, while the driver was taken into custody.

He stated that a couple, Izuchukwu Azubuike, 37, and Ifunaya Mmadueke, 32, were arrested in Umuaka, Njaba, Imo State, with 203 kilograms of skunk, while operatives in Ondo State recovered 420 kilograms of skunk hidden in a bush at Ikun Akoko.

Babafemi also said operatives of the Marine Command seized 31 wraps of cocaine concealed in a handbag from Eze Nodebechi Austin upon his arrival from Côte d’Ivoire at Yekeme, Badagry, Lagos State.

He added that Adekunle Oluwatosin Olajide was arrested at Lagos Island with 3.6 kilograms of Canadian Loud and Colorado, while in Enugu, a drug dealer, Emeka Okeke, 37, was arrested at Akuruka Street, Asata, where quantities of skunk, methamphetamine, cocaine and molly, as well as ₦457,700, were recovered.

Babafemi said NDLEA also sustained its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation campaign across schools, worship centres, workplaces and communities nationwide in the past week.

He said activities included enlightenment lectures at Agulu Awka Community Secondary School, Anambra; Okeodo Community High School, Oyo; and Wisdom Foundation Secondary School, Lagos, as well as an advocacy visit by the Niger State Command to the Emir of Suleja, Alhaji Mohammed Auwal Ibrahim.

Babafemi said the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), commended officers of the MAKIA, Marine, FCT, Taraba, Oyo, Kwara, Imo, Ondo and Lagos Commands for the arrests and seizures.

He added that Marwa urged them and their colleagues nationwide to sustain the current level of professionalism and commitment in both drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction efforts.