The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency have arrested a Lagos‑based businessman Nwabueze, Nicholas Izueke, for attempting to traffic 1.589 kilograms of cocaine by ingesting 95 wraps.
According to a statement by Femi Babafemi, Director of Media & Advocacy for the NDLEA, he was arrested at Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport (MAKIA).
The arrest forms part of a wider nationwide offensive by the agency against drug trafficking and abuse, which has led to multiple seizures and detentions across several states.
According to NDLEA, the 62-year-old was intercepted on Saturday, January 31, 2026, during outward passenger clearance at MAKIA while preparing to fly to China via Addis Ababa on Ethiopian Airlines flight ET940.
The agency said that under observation, Izueke expelled a total of 95 jumbo‑sized wraps of the class A drug in seven separate excretions, confirming the presence of cocaine hidden inside his stomach.
While under observation, the suspect claims he’s into clothing and auto spare parts business in Lagos. He disclosed that he decided to engage in illicit drug trafficking to raise enough money to complete the country home he’s building in his village, Iwollo, Enugu state.
In the Federal Capital Territory, NDLEA operatives recovered 627.7 kilograms of skunk, a potent strain of cannabis, from a makeshift warehouse in Kubwa and disrupted attempts to smuggle methamphetamine hidden inside MP3 speakers from Enugu to Abuja and Kaduna.
At Ibadan, NDLEA officers apprehended a suspected drug kingpin who operates a facility producing Colorado, a synthetic cannabis, and recovered precursor chemicals, skunk and significant sums of cash alongside two vehicles.
NDLEA said it also continued its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation activities in schools, worship centres, workplaces and communities nationwide to deepen public awareness of the dangers of drug trafficking and abuse.
NDLEA has repeatedly intercepted cocaine traffickers who attempt to smuggle the drug by ingesting wraps and concealing them in their bodies during airport travel.
Similar smuggling attempts were recorded at Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos in early 2026, when NDLEA arrested a Brazil‑based Nigerian businessman who concealed cocaine both in his body and in his footwear.