NDLEA arrests Nigerian-British grandmother with cocaine hidden in plantain peels

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a 67-year-old Nigerian-British woman, Mary Yetunde Barek, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, after allegedly attempting to smuggle 13 kilograms of cocaine concealed inside fake plantain peels.

According to a statement issued on Sunday by the agency’s spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, the suspect, who works as a caregiver in the United Kingdom, was intercepted at the departure hall of Terminal 2 while preparing to board a Virgin Atlantic flight to London on June 28, 2026.

Babafemi explained that the drug packages were carefully designed to resemble real plantain bunches and packed alongside other food items in her luggage.

“The suspect who works as a caregiver in the United Kingdom was arrested at the departure hall of terminal 2 of the Lagos airport while attempting to board a Virgin Atlantic airline flight to London on Sunday 28th June 2026.

“A thorough search of her bags resulted in the discovery of 31 big wraps of cocaine which were packaged to appear like plantain hands, weighing a total of 13 kilograms. In her statement, the elderly women admitted full ownership of the recovered cocaine exhibits.”

In a separate operation, NDLEA operatives arrested 45-year-old Nwabueze Felix Onyeka, a PhD student at the University of Putra, Malaysia, during a sting operation in Ekwusigo Local Government Area of Anambra State on June 29.

The agency linked Onyeka to the seizure of 5.8 kilograms of cocaine hidden inside the walls of nine cartons of Orijin Bitters intended for shipment to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Babafemi said the arrest followed the earlier interception of 36 parcels of cocaine concealed within the herbal drink cartons.

“Four suspects initially arrested in parts of Lagos during investigations include: the cargo agent, Alalade Taiwo Azeez; the driver who conveyed the consignment to the cargo agent, Ndem Ogbonna Kelechi; a trader at ASPANDA market, Trade Fair Complex, Lagos who handed over the consignment to the driver for delivery to the cargo agent, Okeke Tochukwu Chimezie and an accomplice who supplied the cartons of Origin bitters used in concealing the cocaine, Igwilo Chidi Henry.

“The efforts eventually paid off, leading to the unmasking of Nwabueze hiding in his village Aziora, Ozubulu, Anambra state as the leader of the syndicate.”

The anti-narcotics agency also reported several arrests in Taraba, Kaduna, Ebonyi and Plateau states, where operatives recovered 43,980 capsules of Tramadol, 1.7 kilograms of methamphetamine and 246.7 kilograms of skunk during separate raids.

In Gombe State, NDLEA said its officers apprehended Dahiru Mohammed and Isiya Lawan at Kuri village in Yamaltu-Deba LGA, recovering 587 blocks of cannabis sativa weighing 556 kilograms.

The agency further disclosed that it sustained its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) campaign by conducting anti-drug sensitisation programmes in schools across Anambra, Enugu, Ogun and Kano states over the past week.