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A Nigerian businessman attempting to smuggle nearly 1.6 kilograms of cocaine to China by ingesting the drug was detained at Kano’s international airport, authorities announced Sunday, as part of expanded enforcement operations that yielded arrests and large-scale seizures across multiple states.
Nwabueze Izueke, 62, was apprehended Saturday during departure screening for an Ethiopian Airlines flight bound for Addis Ababa with onward connection to China, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency said. Body scans conducted by NDLEA officers at Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport indicated narcotics concealed internally, prompting his detention. Under supervised observation, Izueke expelled 95 pellets of cocaine across seven separate excretions, according to agency spokesman Femi Babafemi. The recovered narcotics weighed 1.589 kilograms in total.
Izueke, who described himself as a Lagos-based trader dealing in clothing and automotive parts, told investigators he had turned to drug trafficking to finance construction of a residence in Iwollo, Enugu State, where he maintains family ties.
The statement offered no elaboration on his financial circumstances or how the smuggling arrangement was brokered.
The detention on January 31 came amid what NDLEA officials characterized as intensified enforcement across Nigeria’s northern and southern regions, resulting in multiple interdictions involving cannabis, methamphetamine, tramadol and other controlled substances. In the capital, officers recovered 627.7 kilograms of skunk—a potent cannabis variant—from an improvised storage site inside Fums Plaza in Kubwa, a commercial district in the Federal Capital Territory. The operation’s timing and whether arrests accompanied the seizure were not immediately detailed.
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Separately, authorities intercepted methamphetamine shipments concealed within MP3 audio speakers being transported by bus from Enugu toward Abuja and Kaduna. The interdiction, executed Friday, led to the recovery of two parcels containing a combined 201 grams of the stimulant. Follow-up investigations resulted in four arrests over two days.
Ebube Okeke was detained in Zuba, within the Federal Capital Territory, on Friday after officers linked him to a 173-gram parcel. Three additional suspects—Evans Ugwu, Mohammed Eze Arinze and Friday Michael—were apprehended in Kaduna the following day when they arrived to collect a second shipment weighing 28 grams, according to the agency statement.
In Taraba State, officers stopped a suspect transporting methamphetamine hidden in yoghurt containers, though specifics regarding quantities and the individual’s identity were not provided. Oyo State saw heightened activity, including the arrest of Jimoh Nurudeen, identified by authorities as operating a clandestine laboratory producing Colorado, a synthetic cannabinoid. Nurudeen, 40, was detained Saturday in the Badeku area of Ibadan alongside an associate, Ogundipe Yusuf, 27. Officers recovered eight liters of unspecified precursor chemicals, 14 grams of cannabis, and production equipment from the site. The operation also yielded 7.4 million naira in cash and two vehicles—a Mercedes-Benz sport utility vehicle and a Toyota Highlander—both seized as evidence, the NDLEA said.
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Earlier in the week, a separate Ibadan operation targeting the Agbeni market district resulted in the arrest of Adeniyi Adeola, known locally as Prince, on Wednesday. Authorities searching a truck registered under his name discovered 10,820 ampoules of pentazocine, an opioid analgesic, and 117,820 capsules of tramadol, a controlled painkiller frequently trafficked in West Africa.
Cannabis concealed within rice chaff was uncovered elsewhere in Ibadan, though the statement did not specify the seizure’s scale or timing.
In Imo State, a married couple was arrested Saturday with 203 kilograms of cannabis at Umuaka, in Njaba local government area. Izuchukwu Azubuike, 37, and Ifunaya Mmadueke, 32, were taken into custody, according to Babafemi.
Ondo State authorities recovered 420 kilograms of cannabis Friday from bush terrain near Ikun Akoko, a rural community in the state’s northern region. No arrests connected to that seizure were announced.
The NDLEA statement referenced additional operations in Kwara, Lagos and Enugu states but provided no further detail on the nature or outcome of those activities. Nigerian authorities have expanded interdiction efforts in recent years amid concerns over domestic drug production, regional trafficking networks, and rising synthetic drug circulation. The country’s geographic position, porous borders and expanding air connectivity have made it a transit point for narcotics moving between South America, Asia and Europe.
Body-packing schemes, in which couriers ingest drug-filled capsules for transport, remain a persistent method despite significant health risks. Pellet rupture can cause fatal overdoses, and extended detention of narcotics in the digestive system presents acute medical hazards.
The NDLEA did not indicate whether additional suspects linked to Izueke’s case remain at large or whether investigators are pursuing networks facilitating the China-bound shipment. Nigerian law provides for lengthy imprisonment and substantial fines for cocaine trafficking, with penalties escalating based on quantity. No court date for Izueke has been announced.
