By Chimezie Godfrey
Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a 62-year-old businessman, Nwabueze Nicholas Izueke, at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano, for attempting to smuggle cocaine to China.
Izueke was arrested on January 31, 2026, while boarding an Ethiopian Airlines flight to China via Addis Ababa.
According to the Director, Media and Advocacy of the NDLEA, Femi Babafemi, the suspect tested positive during a body scan and was placed under observation, where he excreted 95 wraps of cocaine weighing 1.589kg.
Babafemi said the suspect admitted engaging in drug trafficking to raise funds to complete his building project in his hometown, Iwollo, Enugu State.
He added that NDLEA also foiled attempts to smuggle methamphetamine concealed in Mp3 speakers from Enugu to Abuja and Kaduna, leading to the arrest of four suspects.
Babafemi disclosed that 627.7kg of skunk was recovered from a makeshift warehouse in Kubwa, Abuja, while 1.8kg of meth was discovered inside yogurt packs in Taraba State.
He further revealed that operatives seized 395,400 capsules of tramadol hidden in a fuel tanker in Kwara State and arrested suspects in Oyo, Imo, Ondo, Lagos, and Enugu States.
Reacting to the development, NDLEA Chairman, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), commended the officers.
“I enjoin officers and men of the Agency to sustain the current level of professionalism and commitment in all their drug supply and demand reduction efforts,” Marwa said.