Posted by Samuel on Sun 08th Feb, 2026 - tori.ng
Izueke was apprehended on Saturday, January 31, 2026, during the outward clearance of passengers heading to China via Addis Ababa on an Ethiopian Airlines flight ET940.
Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a 62-year-old Lagos-based businessman, Nwabueze Nicholas Izueke, at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport in Kano while he was allegedly attempting to travel to China with 95 jumbo-sized wraps of cocaine concealed in his stomach.
Izueke was apprehended on Saturday, January 31, 2026, during the outward clearance of passengers heading to China via Addis Ababa on an Ethiopian Airlines flight ET940.
NDLEA sources said the suspect tested positive for ingesting illicit substances during a body scan and was immediately placed under excretion observation.
While under monitoring, Izueke, who claimed to be involved in the clothing and auto spare parts business in Lagos, expelled a total of 95 pellets of cocaine weighing 1.589 kilograms in seven excretions.
In his statement, he reportedly said he ventured into drug trafficking to raise funds to complete a house he was building in his hometown, Iwollo, Enugu State.
In a related development, NDLEA operatives recovered 627.7 kilograms of skunk from a makeshift warehouse at Fums Plaza in Kubwa, Federal Capital Territory.
Attempts by four suspects, Ebube Okeke, Evans Ugwu, Mohammed Eze Arinze and Friday Michael, to smuggle methamphetamine concealed in MP3 speakers from Enugu to Abuja and Kaduna were also foiled.
The agency intercepted the consignments in a bus in Abuja on Friday, February 6, leading to the arrest of Okeke in Zuba, FCT, with 173 grams of methamphetamine. The other three suspects were arrested in Kaduna on Saturday when they arrived to collect another parcel weighing 28 grams.
At the Dan-Anacha patrol point in Gassol Local Government Area of Taraba State, NDLEA operatives intercepted a suspect, Yusuf Abubakar, 32, transporting packs of yoghurt from Lagos to Mubi, Adamawa State.
A search of the packs revealed wraps of methamphetamine weighing 1.8 kilograms concealed inside.
In Oyo State, officers arrested a Beninese national, Shuaibu Abdulrahman, 29, at Ibudo-Igboho village, Sooro Kishi, where 149.6kg of skunk hidden in rice chaff was recovered.
In a separate operation in Ibadan, a suspect identified as Adeniyi Adeola, alias Prince, was arrested at Foko, Agbeni market with 10,820 ampoules of pentazocine injection and 117,820 capsules of tramadol found in his truck.
NDLEA operatives also arrested a suspected drug kingpin, Jimoh Nurudeen, 40, at the Badeku area of Ibadan alongside his accomplice, Ogundipe Yusuf, 27.
Recovered from them were eight litres of precursor chemicals, 14 grams of skunk and materials used in producing Colorado, a synthetic cannabis. Officers also seized ₦7,408,400, a Mercedes-Benz SUV and a Toyota Highlander.
In Kwara State, operatives intercepted a fuel tanker transporting petrol from Lagos to Maiduguri and recovered 395,400 capsules of tramadol hidden within parts of the vehicle.
A couple, Izuchukwu Azubuike, 37, and Ifunaya Mmadueke, 32, were arrested in Umuaka, Njaba area of Imo State with 203kg of skunk, while operatives in Ondo State recovered 420kg of the substance in a bush at Ikun Akoko.
At Yekeme, Badagry in Lagos State, 31 wraps of cocaine hidden in a handbag were seized from a suspect, Eze Nodebechi Austin, who arrived from Cote d’Ivoire by boat.
Another suspect, Adekunle Oluwatosin Olajide, was arrested on Lagos Island with 3.6kg of Canadian Loud and Colorado.
In Enugu, a suspected drug dealer, Emeka Okeke, 37, was apprehended at his hideout in Asata, Ezeagu, where quantities of skunk, methamphetamine, cocaine, molly and ₦457,700 were recovered.
Meanwhile, NDLEA said its officers continued advocacy activities under the War Against Drug Abuse campaign across schools, religious centres, workplaces and communities nationwide.
These included sensitisation lectures at Agulu Awka Community Secondary School, Anambra; Okeodo Community High School, Igboora, Oyo State; and Wisdom Foundation Secondary School, Ado, Lagos, among others. The Niger State command also paid an advocacy visit to the Emir of Suleja, Alhaji Mohammed Auwal Ibrahim.
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.) commended officers across commands for the arrests and seizures.
He urged them to sustain the current level of professionalism and commitment in their drug supply and demand reduction operations across the country.