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The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) agents have intercepted cocaine disguised in food flasks heading for the United Kingdom.
The agency reported that 12 huge cocaine bundles weighing 2.80 kilogrammes were discovered disguised in the false bottoms of food flasks at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport‘s export facility in Ikeja, Lagos.
The illegal shipment was supposed to be transported to the United Kingdom on a Virgin Atlantic flight.
According to a statement released by Femi Babafemi, Director of Media and Advocacy, on Sunday, the interception took place on April 9, 2026, and resulted in the arrest of two cargo agents, Ama Obinna Ufeim, 33, and Ogabi Monday Akorede, 39.
Further investigations revealed that the sender was a 52-year-old goods forwarder named Agoro Tajudeen Moninuola, who was later caught.
In a separate operation at the airport’s import shed, NDLEA officials confiscated 2.90 kilogrammes of “Loud,” a strong strain of cannabis, packed in snack food packets travelling from the United States via Delta Air Lines.
Two clearing agents, Animashaun Moshood Adetunji and Mercy Gabriel Oluwasegun, were originally detained, while the consignee, 29-year-old fashion designer Saheed Adeshina Adegoke, was later seized at his home in Ogba, Lagos.
Beyond Lagos, the agency increased its activities in numerous states. In Kaduna, agents seized a cement-laden trailer on the Kaduna-Zaria highway and discovered 847 kilograms of skunk concealed within the cargo. The truck driver, 33-year-old Umar Garba Haruna, was apprehended.
In Cross River State, a joint operation by NDLEA agents and troops resulted in the arrest of 53-year-old Alice Sunday Udoh during a woodland raid in Uwet village, Akamkpa Local Government Area.
The operation resulted in the destruction of 15,000 kg of skunk grown on six hectares of farmland, with a further 119 kg seized.
Similarly, in Edo State, NDLEA agents stormed a cannabis field in Saboro camp, Ovia North East Local Government Area, and destroyed 2,281.43 kilogrammes of the material.
Three suspects—Nweke Smart, 27, Christopher Egbe, 62, and Monday Ayan, 45—were apprehended, with some found in possession of processed cannabis and seeds.
In Delta State, two suspects, Sunday Odili, 49, and Ijenebe Joshua, 39, were nabbed with 87.838 kilogrammes of skunk and seeds near Okwo’s Powerline.
Back in Lagos, operatives apprehended Chinedu Ogbekene and Zindozin Aloukou Bienvenu on the Mile 2-Badagry Motorway as they attempted to carry 11,900 tramadol capsules and 400 ampoules of phenobarbital injection to Ghana. On the same day, a raid on a two-story building on Lagos Island turned up 95.8 kilogrammes of skunk.
The agency also emphasised its current War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) campaign, stating that sensitisation events had taken place in schools, places of worship, businesses, and communities around the country over the previous week.
NDLEA Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Mohamed Buba Marwa, appreciated the balance between enforcement and public awareness.
He stated, “I commend the officers and soldiers of the MMIA, Edo, Delta, Cross River, Kaduna, and Lagos Commands for the arrests and seizures. Their drug supply reduction efforts are carefully matched with WADA sensitisation activities.”
Marwa also asked operatives nationwide to keep up the effort and “maintain the current tempo” in the war against drug trafficking and misuse.
