NDLEA arrests Brazil returnee with cocaine hidden in private part, shoe soles

A Brazil-based Nigerian entrepreneur, Uche Franklin Onyekwere, has been taken into custody by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos, after allegedly attempting to smuggle cocaine into the country.

Onyekwere was arrested on Thursday, January 29, 2026, during the arrival screening of passengers on a South African Airways flight from Brazil via Johannesburg. The arrest followed intelligence-led surveillance by NDLEA officers.

A body scan conducted on the 47-year-old businessman revealed suspicious objects consistent with drug concealment.

Subsequent strip-search led to the discovery of a large wrap of a white powdery substance, later confirmed to be cocaine, tied around his right thigh.

Further examination uncovered two additional wraps hidden inside the soles of the flat footwear he was wearing. In total, three sizeable parcels of cocaine weighing 1.60 kilograms were recovered from the suspect.

During preliminary questioning, Onyekwere confessed to purchasing the drugs in Brazil with plans to sell them in Nigeria.

He claimed the proceeds were meant to expand his business operations and support the naming ceremony of his newborn child.

The suspect, who resides on Rua Ever, Mulariuha, São Paulo, said he has lived in Brazil since 2008 and has been running a toy business for about nine years.

Meanwhile, at the Tincan Island Port in Lagos, NDLEA officers, in collaboration with Customs and other security agencies, uncovered 55 jumbo bags of Canadian Loudva potent cannabis variant during a joint examination of a container shipment on Wednesday, January 28.

The drugs, weighing 1,183 kilograms, were imported from Montreal, Canada, and concealed inside a Hyundai SUV and a Toyota Matrix vehicle.

In Niger State, NDLEA operatives acting on credible intelligence intercepted a long truck with registration number T 31589 LA along the Dei-Dei–Abuja Expressway in the early hours of Tuesday, January 26. Three suspects Andy Chidogu (49), Kenneth Ogene (45), and Sadiq Olanrewaju (27) were arrested with 176 bags of skunk weighing 2,735 kilograms, alongside one kilogram of Colorado, a synthetic cannabis, hidden inside the truck.

Investigations showed that the driver, Kenneth Ogene, departed Lagos on January 23 with 800 bags of flour bound for Ekpoma, Edo State, where he arrived the following day. After delivery, he allegedly agreed to transport the illicit drugs for a fee of N1.7 million.

In a related operation in Edo State on Tuesday, January 27, NDLEA officers arrested Shaibu Yusuf along the Auchi–Abuja Expressway while attempting to source a vehicle to transport 66 bags of skunk concealed in charcoal sacks, weighing 792 kilograms, to Katsina State. Additionally, on Wednesday, January 28, NDLEA operatives, supported by Nigerian Army personnel, raided a cannabis farm at Ebora Camp, Ilushi, in Esan South East LGA. Over 4,063.675 kilograms of skunk were destroyed on 1.6 hectares of farmland, while 328 kilograms of processed cannabis and seeds were recovered. Four suspects Jeremiah Nwodeh (46), Chukwudi Pius (33), Pius Ogaba (46), and Onora Kwene (35) were arrested at the site.

In Anambra State, NDLEA officers intercepted a cement-laden truck at Upper Iweka, Onitsha, on Wednesday, January 28. A search revealed 345.2 kilograms of skunk concealed beneath bags of cement. The drugs were linked to Abum Okeke (42), one of three occupants of the truck.

Elsewhere, two suspects Tunde Ogundele (39) and Soji Elegbelye (46) were arrested on Monday, January 26, at Eleyewo community in Akure North, Ondo State, in connection with the seizure of 473 kilograms of skunk. In Kano State, NDLEA operatives on the same day apprehended Abdullahi Usman (45) along Murtala Mohammed Way with 12,500 ampoules of pentazocine injection. Another suspect, Musa Shuaibu (42), was arrested in Gaya area on Tuesday, January 27, with 4,390 tablets of tramadol recovered from him.

In Lagos, Oragwan Ekene was arrested on Friday, January 30, at Okeyson Park, Alaba, with 15.5 kilograms of skunk en route to Onitsha, Anambra State.

Also, at the Seme Border arrival tarmac in Badagry on Tuesday, January 27, NDLEA officers recovered 3.5 kilograms of skunk concealed inside a sound system and cereal packs in the luggage of Omang Peter Edward, who was arriving from Cotonou, Benin Republic.

Across the country, NDLEA commands sustained their War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) advocacy campaigns in schools, religious centres, workplaces, and communities. Sensitization programmes were held at institutions including Government Day Junior Secondary School, Jaji Maji, Yobe; Boys Technical College, Aba, Abia State; Government Technical and Vocational College, Obollo Orie, Enugu; St. John’s R.C.M Primary School, Odomola Eredo, Epe, Lagos; Yandaki Primary School, Kaita, Katsina State; and Seed of Life College, Ibadan, Oyo State, among others.

Commending officers of the MMIA, Tincan, Niger, Lagos, Edo, Anambra, Ondo, and Kano Commands for their professionalism and commitment, NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), urged them to sustain the agency’s balanced strategy of drug supply suppression and demand reduction nationwide.