NDLEA arrests Lagos businessman over UK cocaine plot

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a Lagos-based businessman accused of masterminding an attempt to smuggle cocaine to the United Kingdom, as operatives recorded a series of major drug seizures and arrests across the country.

The suspect, 55-year-old Onuigbo Ndubisi Chinedu, a clothing trader at the popular Balogun Market on Lagos Island, was arrested on July 23 after NDLEA officers intercepted 3.30 kilograms of cocaine concealed inside the walls of cartons containing food items destined for the UK at the export shed of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) a day earlier.

In a statement released on Sunday by Femi Babafemi, director, media and advocacy, NDLEA, investigations initially led to the arrest of three cargo agents — Nkwor Onyekachukwu Justina, Adeleke Abiola Taoheed and Ukanwa Grace Pilgrim — who processed the shipment.

Their interrogation later led operatives to Kenneth Okakpu, who allegedly delivered the consignment for export.

Further investigations identified Onuigbo as the alleged kingpin behind the trafficking network, leading to his arrest while he was reportedly preparing to send another cocaine shipment to the UK.

In a separate operation, NDLEA operatives arrested 31-year-old entrepreneur Emmanuella Chukwu-Edo at her residence in Surulere, Lagos, on July 21 after intercepting a 2.80kg consignment of Canadian Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis, which had arrived from the United States aboard a United Airlines flight a day earlier.

The agency also recorded one of its biggest pharmaceutical seizures after recovering 2.24 million pills of Tapentadol 250mg, with an estimated street value of more than N2.2 billion, from a shipment that arrived from India aboard an Air Maroc flight.

The drugs were uncovered during a joint examination of the cargo on July 24 following intelligence gathered by the agency.

The seizure came shortly after NDLEA officers intercepted another shipment of tramadol concealed inside containers of black soap and bound for the United Kingdom at a Lagos courier company.

At the Apapa Seaport in Lagos, operatives uncovered 4,777 sachets of Canadian Loud weighing 2,388.5kg and valued at more than N7.1 billion. The illicit drugs had been hidden inside three vehicles loaded in a shipping container.

Beyond narcotics enforcement, NDLEA also intercepted military-grade ammunition during operations in Katsina and Kaduna states.

In Katsina, operatives arrested 30-year-old Mustapha Sani in Baure, Safana Local Government Area, after discovering 323 rounds of ammunition, including 200 rounds of 7.62mm and 123 rounds of 7.6mm ammunition.

On the Abuja-Kaduna Expressway near Jere, officers arrested another suspect, 30-year-old Abubakar Amadu, with 73 rounds of 7.62mm RLA ammunition concealed inside kegs filled with red palm oil.

The agency said both suspects and the recovered ammunition had been handed over to the appropriate security agency for further investigation.

In Edo State, NDLEA operatives raided a warehouse in Ilushi community, Esan South-East Local Government Area, recovering 1,286kg of cannabis and 86kg of cannabis seeds.

Two suspects were also arrested during the operation. Ojore Onweze, 45, was found with 60kg of skunk, while George Agwumede, 30, was arrested with an additional 13kg of the illicit substance.

The agency also continued its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) campaign, conducting sensitisation programmes in schools and communities, including Government Day Secondary School in Sabon Wuse, Niger State; Government Girls Secondary School, Shekara, Kano State; and Otto Primary School in Ebute Metta, Lagos.

NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig.-Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), commended officers from the Directorate of Operations and General Investigation (DOGI), as well as the MMIA, Apapa, Edo, Kaduna and Katsina commands, for the successful operations.

He urged personnel across the country to sustain the agency’s balanced approach of combining drug supply reduction with public sensitisation in the fight against drug abuse and trafficking.

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