NDLEA ARRESTS 62-YEAR-OLD AUTO PARTS DEALER WITH 95 COCAINE WRAPS IN KANO AS NATIONWIDE RAIDS BUST METH NETWORKS AND ‘COLOS’ FACTORY
Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have intercepted a 62-year-old Lagos-based businessman, Nwabueze Nicholas Izueke, at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport while he was attempting to smuggle 1.589 kilograms of cocaine to China. The suspect, who claims to be an auto parts dealer, was apprehended during the outward clearance of passengers on an Ethiopian Airlines flight. After a body scan confirmed he had ingested illicit drugs, Izueke was placed under observation, eventually excreting 95 jumbo-sized pellets of cocaine in seven sessions. In his statement to investigators, the suspect confessed that he ventured into drug trafficking to raise funds to complete his country home in Enugu State.
Beyond the airport arrest, the agency launched a series of high-stakes operations across the country, uncovering sophisticated methods used by traffickers to conceal illegal substances. In Taraba State, officers intercepted a consignment of Hollandia Yogurt heading to Adamawa, only to find 1.8 kilograms of methamphetamine hidden inside the packs. Similarly, in Abuja and Kaduna, four suspects were arrested for attempting to smuggle meth concealed within MP3 speakers. The crackdown extended to Kwara State, where a petrol tanker traveling from Lagos to Maiduguri was found to be carrying 395,400 capsules of tramadol hidden within its structure.
The NDLEA’s offensive also struck at the heart of local drug production in Oyo State. Operatives raided a facility in the Badeku area of Ibadan, where they dismantled a laboratory used for producing “Colorado,” a potent synthetic cannabis. The kingpin of the operation, 40-year-old Jimoh Nurudeen, was arrested alongside an accomplice, with officers recovering precursor chemicals, luxury vehicles, and over 7 million Naira in cash. Other significant seizures included over 600 kilograms of skunk in the FCT, a large cache of pharmaceutical opioids in Ibadan, and cocaine seized from a passenger boat arriving from Cote D’Ivoire at the Badagry waterfront in Lagos.
In response to these coordinated busts, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), commended the professionalism of the officers involved across the various commands. He noted that the agency remains committed to its dual strategy of drug supply reduction and public enlightenment through its “War Against Drug Abuse” (WADA) campaign. As suspects face prosecution, the agency continues to intensify its sensitization efforts in schools and communities nationwide to curb the rising tide of drug demand and trafficking.
