Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a China-based Nigerian businessman, Ibeanu Vincent Chukwudulue, and two Angolan nationals for ingesting cocaine at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport and Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport.
The 34-year-old Ibeanu was arrested on February 4, 2026 while onboard a Qatar Airways Flight 1432 from Kano to China via Abuja and Doha. Acting on credible intelligence, NDLEA operatives at the Abuja airport requested that he be deboarded for a body scan, which confirmed that he had ingested illicit drugs.
He was subsequently placed under observation, during which he excreted 52 pellets of cocaine weighing 735.95 grammes.
In his statement, Ibeanu said he previously ran a business on Lagos Island before relocating to Guangzhou, China in 2024.
On the same day, February 4, two Angolan nationals, Mbandu Martins Makiadi, 50, and Ngoma Wilson Fernando, 52, were intercepted at the screening point of the departure hall of the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport during outward clearance for passengers travelling to Istanbul, Turkey, via Addis Ababa on Ethiopian Airlines flight ET940.
Body scans conducted on the suspects confirmed ingestion of illicit drugs. They were placed under observation.
Mbandu excreted 76 wraps of cocaine weighing 920 grammes in seven excretions, while Ngoma expelled 108 pellets weighing 1.33 kilogrammes in five excretions.
During interrogation, the suspects, who hail from Hoji Ya Henda in Luanda, Angola, claimed they were recruited by a Luanda-based automobile spare parts dealer who promised to pay them 3,000 dollars each upon successful delivery of the consignments in Turkey.
In a related development, NDLEA operatives at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport thwarted an attempt by a convicted drug kingpin, Olashupo Michael Oladimeji, to export 1.10 kilogrammes of cocaine concealed in processed cassava granules, popularly known as garri, to London, United Kingdom, on a Virgin Atlantic flight.
Olashupo is currently serving a five-year jail term at the Ikoyi Correctional Centre following his arrest by NDLEA in 2025 in connection with unlawful conspiracy to export 17.90 kilogrammes of cocaine. He was prosecuted, convicted and sentenced by a Federal High Court in Lagos in charge number FHC/L/925C/2025.
Investigations revealed that he allegedly initiated the latest trafficking scheme from prison using his company.
The plot was uncovered on February 12, 2026 when NDLEA officers at the export shed of the Lagos airport intercepted a consignment containing compressed blocks of cocaine concealed in a sack of garri packed inside a carton.
A staff member of Dimeji Express Logistics, Adedeji Yusuf Gbolahan, who presented the consignment for export, was arrested. Further investigations showed that Olashupo directed Yusuf to collect the consignment from a location in Oshodi.
Similarly, NDLEA operatives frustrated an attempt by a 44-year-old estate surveyor, Adelaja Taiwo Adetayo, to export 1.70 kilogrammes of skunk concealed in five jerry cans to the United Kingdom.
The cargo agent, Mustapha Quddus Opeyemi, who presented the consignment for export, was initially arrested. A follow-up operation led to the arrest of Adelaja at Ahmadiyya area of Lagos on February 9, 2026.
In Abuja, NDLEA operatives on February 12 intercepted a waybill package sent from Enugu containing a children’s toy guitar. A search revealed that the instrument had been used to conceal two parcels of Canadian Loud, a strain of cannabis, weighing 59.2 grammes.
A follow-up operation led to the arrest of the owner of the consignment, Henry Onuma, at Dream City Estate, Life Camp.
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