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.
Cocaine inserted in the anus
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.
Businesswoman conceals meth in underwear
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:
- At NAHCO export shed, Lagos (15 September): 40 wraps of methamphetamine (2.3kg) hidden in food items destined for Hong Kong. A 59-year-old suspect, Umelo Ifeanyi Venatus, was arrested.
- At a courier company, Lagos (18 September): Seven phone chargers going to New Zealand were found to contain 257 grams of cocaine.
Raids across states
The NDLEA also recorded seizures across several states:
- Adamawa: 233,800 tramadol pills recovered in three raids. Suspects include Rita Zira, who had 27,900 pills in her bedroom, and Halilu Abubakar, arrested with 10,300 pills.
- Zamfara: 109 bags of cannabis (skunk) weighing 1,099.4kg seized from Hammed Danladi Aliyu, 40, along Gummi-Daki Takwas road.
- Yobe: Two suspects, Babangida Usman and Ismail Ibrahim, were caught with 14,000 tramadol capsules along Damaturu-Potiskum road.
- Taraba: Anas Hamisu, 28, arrested with three sacks of skunk weighing 25.5kg.
- Edo: NDLEA destroyed two cannabis farms covering 4.5 hectares, with an estimated yield of 11,330kg. Three suspects were arrested: Mathew Onoja (56), Moses Thomas Male (18), and Friday Uchenjin (38).
NDLEA’s warning to drug cartels
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.
