NDLEA Arrests Businesswoman, Seizes N12.3bn Cannabis in Major Lagos Drug Bust

LAGOS, Nigeria — Nigeria’s National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a 38-year-old businesswoman at Lagos’ Murtala Muhammed International Airport after allegedly discovering 7.5 kilograms of cocaine hidden inside a false compartment of her luggage, while also seizing cannabis valued at N12.3 billion at Apapa Port in one of its largest recent anti-drug operations.

The agency said the suspect, identified as Iwebema Ogechi Peace, was intercepted while attempting to board a Qatar Airways flight bound for Beijing, China.

In a statement issued on Sunday, NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi said the arrest followed intelligence received before the suspect’s journey.

According to the agency, officers searched her checked baggage and recovered four parcels of cocaine concealed inside a professionally constructed false bottom of the suitcase.

The NDLEA said the suspect told investigators she frequently travelled to China to purchase goods for resale in Nigeria.

In a separate operation, NDLEA operatives, working alongside other security agencies, intercepted a 40-foot container at Apapa Port containing 195 sacks of “Canadian Loud,” a high-grade strain of cannabis.

The agency said the shipment weighed 4,959 kilograms and has an estimated street value of N12.3 billion.

Officials said the container had been under surveillance since April 25 as investigators monitored its movement from Canada through multiple transit locations before its arrival in Lagos.

The seizure is part of an intensified campaign targeting transnational drug trafficking networks allegedly using Nigerian seaports to smuggle illicit drugs into the country, the agency said.

NDLEA also announced the dismantling of what it described as a criminal syndicate accused of planting narcotics inside passengers’ luggage at motor parks.

The breakthrough followed the interception of methamphetamine concealed in a Toyota Sienna bus travelling from Nnewi in Anambra State to Abaji in the Federal Capital Territory.

Subsequent operations led to the arrest of suspected loaders, the bus driver and the alleged recipient of the shipment, according to the agency.

Additional raids conducted across Lagos, the Federal Capital Territory, Anambra and other states also resulted in the recovery of large quantities of tramadol and cannabis hidden inside trucks and residential buildings.

NDLEA Chairman Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.) commended officers involved in the operations, saying the agency would continue its campaign against drug trafficking while expanding nationwide drug abuse awareness programmes.