The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has uncovered a string of sophisticated smuggling attempts at Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) in Lagos, intercepting high-grade cannabis and cocaine ingeniously concealed in everyday items such as microwaves and lipsticks.
The spokesman for the agency, Mr. Femi Babafemi in a statement says, this latest operation, conducted on Monday, July 7, led to the seizure of 23 parcels of “Loud,” a potent strain of cannabis, cleverly hidden inside new microwave ovens.
The consignment, according to him, weighing 11.3 kilograms, arrived in two tranches aboard an Ethiopian Airlines flight from Bangkok, Thailand via Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Acting on credible intelligence, NDLEA operatives subjected the consolidated cargo to intense scrutiny and discovered the illicit stash.
Mr. Babafemi said, one suspect, Ezenwegbu Chike, has been arrested in connection with the haul.
Just days later, officers at the airport’s export shed intercepted another narcotics shipment, this time, cocaine ingeniously built into ladies’ lipsticks.
The consignment, headed for Malabo, Guinea, was disguised alongside hair extensions, face powder, and other cosmetics.
When dismantled, the agency spokesman said, the lipsticks revealed approximately 400 grams of cocaine mixed with phenacetine, a common adulterant.
The agency arrested one Ezeikwelume Prince Afam, a businessman operating at the Trade Fair Complex in Ojo, Lagos, in connection with the seizure on Friday, July 11.
These developments, the statement says, follow a similar case barely a week prior, when NDLEA operatives seized 420 grams of cocaine embedded in 84 pieces of lipstick destined for the United Kingdom through a Lagos-based courier company.
Meanwhile, in a major breakthrough, the NDLEA has apprehended a notorious drug baron, Okechukwu Izugha, popularly known as “Okey Omeogo,” after more than a year in hiding.
Izugha was arrested on Wednesday, July 9, at his wife’s shop in Ijesha Market, Lagos.
The NDLEA stated that, he had gone off the radar following the recovery of 9kg of cocaine from a suspect at a motor park in Orile on August 7, 2024, a shipment traced directly to him.
His arrest follows months of intensive surveillance, which previously led to the arrest and conviction of his wife, Maureen Izugha, who was caught with 500 grams of cocaine in January and sentenced to two years in prison.
Still in Lagos, operatives recovered 1,400 compressed blocks of Ghanaian Loud, another variant of high-grade cannabis, weighing a total of 700 kilograms, along with a Ford delivery truck at Okun-Ajah Beach.
Later that same day, two men, Innocent Ejidiobo and Friday Paul, were arrested along the Ajah-Epe Expressway.
Their vehicle was found to contain 26 kilograms of Ghana Loud, 123 grams of methamphetamine, and 45 grams of Molly.
The NDLEA says these coordinated operations underscore its resolve to dismantle drug trafficking networks and bring traffickers to justice, no matter how ingenious or evasive their tactics.
Reporting by Nosa Aituamen