Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a 74-year-old man at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, for attempting to smuggle 11 kilograms of cocaine to the United Kingdom.
The agency also intercepted 339,800 bottles of codeine-based syrup concealed in two containers at the Apapa Seaportin Lagos during a separate operation.
The NDLEA Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, disclosed the operations in a statement on Sunday.
According to Babafemi, the elderly suspect, identified as Ikwuakalom Nwakoro Emeka, was arrested on Saturday, March 14, 2026, at the departure hall of the Abuja airport while attempting to board a British Airways flight to London.
A search of his luggage uncovered 11 kilograms of cocaine concealed inside food items, including ground dry pepper, and carefully wrapped in foil papers and balloons.
In a related operation in Lagos, NDLEA operatives acting on intelligence in the early hours of Monday, March 9, arrested a woman, Maryam Olalowo, at Ikad Hotel and Suites on Etim Inyang Street, Victoria Island, while she was attempting to sell 89 grams of cocaine and 20 grams of Canadian Loud, a strain of cannabis.
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Babafemi said she was with her three children, including an infant, at the time of her arrest.
Investigations later revealed that the drugs belonged to her husband, Ibrahim Olalowo Olatunji, who was subsequently arrested the same day, while the woman was released.
The husband reportedly admitted ownership of the drugs during interrogation.
Investigators also discovered that he had previously been arrested, convicted and sentenced to two and a half years imprisonment for a similar offence in 2015.
In another operation on Monday, March 9, NDLEA operatives arrested two suspects, Kalilou Simpara and Saidu Ibrahim, at Ebute Ero on Lagos Island after recovering 68,000 pills of tramadol (250mg and 225mg) from them as they prepared to transport the drugs to the Benin Republic.
A follow-up raid carried out on Wednesday, March 11, at Idumota Market on Lagos Island led to the arrest of the alleged owner of the consignment, Nnamdi Cyprian.
A search of his shop uncovered a parcel already packaged for waybill delivery containing 1,000 tablets of tramadol.
Another operation at the same market on Friday, March 13, resulted in the arrest of Nwanosike Kelvin and the recovery of 47,500 ampoules of pentazocine injection from his shop.
In Kano State, NDLEA operatives arrested a 42-year-old suspect, Magaji Dan Azumi, with 386 kilograms of skunk in the Bebeji area on Tuesday, March 10.
Similarly, NDLEA officers in Abuja recovered 282.2 kilograms of skunk from another suspect, Isah Wako, 42, during an operation in the Gwagwalada area of the Federal Capital Territory on Friday, March 13.
In another major seizure, NDLEA officers working with the Nigeria Customs Service and other security agencies intercepted 339,800 bottles of codeine-based syrup hidden in two containers at Apapa seaport on Saturday, March 14.
The containers had earlier been placed on the agency’s watch list following intelligence on concealed opioids.
The agency also continued its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation campaign in schools across Nasarawa, Oyo, Delta, Cross River and Edo states.
Commending officers involved in the various operations, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA, Mohamed Buba Marwa, praised officers across commands nationwide for maintaining what he described as a balance between drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction efforts.
