NDLEA busts cocaine hidden in food flasks bound for UK at Lagos Airport

By Kazeem Ugbodaga

Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have intensified nationwide enforcement operations, intercepting cocaine and cannabis consignments concealed in food flasks and snack packs, while arresting multiple suspects, including a Lagos-based fashion designer.

NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, said in a statemen on Sunday that the agency uncovered 12 parcels of cocaine weighing 2.80 kilogrammes hidden in false bottoms of food flasks bound for the United Kingdom through a Virgin Atlantic flight at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja.

He noted that the seizure was made on April 9 at the export shed, leading to the arrest of two cargo agents, Ama Obinna Ufeim, 33, and Ogabi Monday Akorede, 39.

Babafemi stated that further investigation traced the consignment to a 52-year-old freight forwarder, Agoro Tajudeen Moninuola, who was subsequently apprehended in a follow-up operation.

In a related development, Babafemi said NDLEA operatives at the airport’s import shed intercepted 2.90 kilogrammes of “Loud,” a potent strain of cannabis, concealed in snack packs on a Delta Air Lines flight from the United States.

He noted that two clearing agents, Animashaun Moshood Adetunji and Mercy Gabriel Oluwasegun, were initially arrested, while the consignee, Saheed Adeshina Adegoke, a 29-year-old fashion designer, was later arrested at his residence in Ogba, Lagos.

Beyond Lagos, Babafemi explained that operations in Kaduna led to the interception of a cement-laden trailer along the Kaduna-Zaria highway.

He said a search uncovered 760 blocks and 33 jumbo bags of skunk weighing 847 kilogrammes, with the driver, Umar Garba Haruna, arrested.

In Cross River, Babafemi disclosed that NDLEA operatives, supported by soldiers, raided a forest in Uwet community, Akamkpa Local Government Area, where 15,000 kilogrammes of skunk cultivated on six hectares were destroyed.

He added that 119 kilogrammes were recovered and a 53-year-old suspect, Alice Sunday Udoh, was arrested.

Similarly, Babafemi noted that in Edo State, operatives raided a cannabis farm in Ovia North East LGA, destroying 2,281.43 kilogrammes of the substance and arresting three suspects.

He added that additional arrests were made in Delta State, where 87.838 kilogrammes of skunk and seeds were recovered.

Babafemi further stated that in Lagos, two suspects were apprehended along the Mile 2–Badagry expressway while attempting to transport 11,900 tramadol capsules and 400 ampoules of phenobarbital injection to Ghana, saying that a raid on a building in Lagos Island yielded 95.8 kilogrammes of skunk.

He noted that alongside enforcement, NDLEA commands nationwide sustained their War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation campaigns in schools and communities, including outreach programmes in Niger, Cross River, Kogi, Katsina, Kano, and Lagos states.

Meanwhile, the NDLEA Chairman, Mohamed Buba Marwa, commended officers across the affected commands for the seizures and arrests. Babafemi said Marwa acknowledged the balance between supply reduction efforts and public enlightenment, urging personnel to maintain the current operational momentum.