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A 30-year-old Italy-based businessman, Joseph Cyril, has been arrested by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu, for ingesting 98 wraps of cocaine while attempting to travel to Italy through Addis Ababa and France.
NDLEA spokesman, Femi Babafemi, disclosed this in a statement on Sunday.
Cyril was arrested at the airport’s departure hall on Sunday, August 2, 2026, during the outward clearance of passengers on Ethiopian Airlines flight ET930.
He was subsequently placed under excretion observation, during which he excreted 98 wraps of cocaine weighing 1.510 kilogrammes.
Investigations revealed that Cyril arrived in Nigeria from Italy on July 13, 2026, and allegedly ingested the drug at a hotel in Awka, Anambra State, before travelling to Enugu to board his flight to Europe.
In his statement, the suspect said he had been doing business in Italy for several years before agreeing to traffic the consignment for €3,500 to raise money to relocate to Germany, where his family is based.
Other cocaine seizures
Babafemi said NDLEA operatives also thwarted an attempt by suspected drug trafficking syndicates to export 1.2 kilogrammes of cocaine concealed in 25 pieces of phone chargers to Saudi Arabia.
The consignment was intercepted at a courier company in Lagos.
In another operation, NDLEA officers on Monday, August 3, stopped an attempt to send 500 grammes of cocaine concealed in the false bottom of a backpack to Italy through another logistics company.
The agency also intercepted a consignment containing 2.3 kilogrammes of Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis, shipped from the United States through another logistics company in Lagos on Tuesday, August 4.
Massive cannabis seizures
In Ondo State, NDLEA officers on patrol along the Akure-Ilesha Expressway on Tuesday, August 4, intercepted a truck heading north with 1,633 kilogrammes of skunk concealed in bags of rice shafts.
Two suspects, Buba Jamilu, 40, and Sanusi Ibrahim, 30, were arrested in connection with the consignment.
The agency also recovered 147 kilogrammes of skunk from Ita Ogbolu Forest during a raid on Monday, August 3.
In Oyo State, operatives acting on credible intelligence raided a drug warehouse at Elebure village in Orire Local Government Area on Monday, August 3.
The operation led to the recovery of 731.03 kilogrammes of suspected cannabis and the arrest of a 57-year-old suspect, Felicia Thompson. Her alleged partner, Thompson Vincent Nwaka, is at large.
In Edo State, NDLEA operatives, supported by soldiers, recovered 65 jumbo bags of skunk weighing 604.5 kilogrammes at Ewe Luleha in Owan West Local Government Area on Wednesday, August 5.
In Abia State, a suspected drug joint operator, Chibuike Charles, 31, was arrested during a raid at his Samec by Powerline base in Osisioma Local Government Area on Thursday, August 6.
Seven kilogrammes of skunk were recovered.
In Lagos, a wanted drug dealer, Adome Claude Sikuru, was arrested on Saturday, August 8, at the Fibre Market drug jungle in Badagry after a three-month manhunt.
A total of 88.5 kilogrammes of skunk was recovered from him.
Cannabis-infused confectioneries intercepted
NDLEA officers, in collaboration with the Nigeria Customs Service and other security agencies, also intercepted 73 cartons containing 442 packets of cannabis-infused cookies and gummies weighing 309.4 kilogrammes.
The items were discovered during a joint examination of a 40-foot container at the TinCan Port Complex in Lagos on Tuesday, August 4.
A suspect, Larry Nnaji, has been arrested in connection with the seizure.
WADA sensitisation
Meanwhile, NDLEA commands and formations across the country continued their War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation activities in schools, worship centres, workplaces and communities.
The activities included enlightenment lectures for students and staff of Islamic High School, Saki, Oyo State; Holy Ghost Academy, Nkpor, Anambra State; and Madarasatul Hidayatul Aulad Islamiyya, Gaya, Kano State.
The Rivers State Command also paid a WADA advocacy visit to the management of Ignatius Ajuru University of Education, Port Harcourt.
Commending officers and men of the Drug Demand Reduction Directorate, Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Ondo, Oyo, Edo, Abia, Seme and TinCan commands for the successful operations, NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd.), urged personnel across the country to sustain the agency’s balanced approach to drug control.
The latest operations form part of the NDLEA’s ongoing nationwide efforts to intercept illicit drugs at airports, seaports, courier facilities, highways and suspected drug storage locations.
The agency has in recent years intensified interdiction operations against the trafficking of cocaine, cannabis and other controlled substances, while combining enforcement with its War Against Drug Abuse sensitisation campaign.
