By Chimezie Godfrey
Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a Brazil-based Nigerian businessman, Uche Franklin Onyekwere, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, for attempting to smuggle cocaine into the country.
In a statement signed by the agency’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, the suspect was arrested on January 29, 2026, during the clearance of passengers arriving from Brazil via Johannesburg.
Babafemi said a body scan confirmed drug concealment, leading to the recovery of three wraps of cocaine hidden on the suspect’s body and footwear.
“A total of 1.60 kilogrammes of cocaine was recovered from him,” he said.
According to the statement, the suspect confessed that he intended to sell the drug to raise capital for his business and fund his child’s naming ceremony.
The agency also intercepted 55 jumbo bags of Canadian Loud weighing 1,183kg at Tincan Island Port in Lagos.
In Niger State, three suspects were arrested with 2,735kg of skunk and one kilogramme of Colorado concealed in a truck.
Babafemi added that large consignments of cannabis were also seized in Edo, Anambra and Ondo states, while 12,500 ampoules of pentazocine and 4,390 tramadol pills were recovered in Kano.
He said, “Across the country, NDLEA commands seized a total of 9,939kg of Loud, Colos and Skunk in coordinated operations.”
Babafemi noted that the Chairman of the agency, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), commended officers and urged them to sustain the fight against drug abuse.