The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested 46-year-old Ofoma Sunday, a Brazilian returnee, for ingesting illicit drugs, which he later excreted under observatory custody at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos.
This was contained in a statement by Femi Babafemi, Director, Media & Advocacy, NDLEA Headquarters, Abuja.
“A total of 111 wraps of heroin weighing 1.452 kilograms were egested in eight excretions by Ofoma,” the statement read
According to the statement, Ofoma was intercepted on Tuesday, 16 September 2025, upon his arrival from Brazil on an Ethiopian Airlines flight. Investigations revealed that Ofoma left Nigeria for Brazil on 3 September 2025 to courier a heroin consignment to Lagos in exchange for $2,500.
Following his arrest, NDLEA operatives trailed him to Eliata Hotel in Amuwo Odofin, Lagos, where he was instructed to meet a handler, 55-year-old Nweke Jude Chukwudi, designated to supervise the excretion and collection of the drugs.
Another suspect, Ukachukwu Frank Ikechukwu, was arrested on Friday, 19 September, during inward clearance of Ethiopian Airlines passengers from Brazil. He later expelled five wraps of cocaine weighing 145 grams.
In his statement, Ukachukwu admitted he purchased nine wraps of cocaine in Brazil and inserted them into his anus, a process that took two hours. He revealed that while transiting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, he experienced severe anal pain and removed some wraps. He was only able to reinsert seven, flushing two down a toilet.
He added that on his flight to Nigeria, he expelled two more wraps mid-air, leaving him with only five upon arrival. Ukachukwu, who had previously lived in the United States before being deported in 2022 for immigration offences, said he had returned to Brazil in 2025 after obtaining residency.
NDLEA operatives arrested Okolonkwo Ebere Theresa at MMIA Terminal 2 on Sunday, 14 September. She attempted to board a Qatar Airways flight to Doha while concealing 1.40 kilograms of methamphetamine in her butt pad underwear.
During interrogation, she disclosed that she runs a second-hand clothing trade and a POS business in Enugu but was recruited into drug trafficking.
NDLEA operatives also intercepted other drug shipments:
The NDLEA also recorded seizures across several states:
NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd.) commended operatives for the operations.
“These arrests and seizures represent a significant milestone in our determined effort to dismantle drug trafficking organizations operating in Nigeria and around the world, prioritizing those bent on targeting our productive youth population with illicit substances until they’re no longer able to inflict harm on our communities or misrepresent our country’s image in the global space,” Marwa said.
He urged NDLEA officers nationwide to sustain their balanced approach to the drug control efforts of the Agency.