The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a 50-year-old widow and fashion designer, Mrs Ifeoma Henrietta Ezewuike, for attempting to traffic 1.3 kilograms of cocaine by disguising with a fake pregnancy to evade scrutiny and detection.

The widow, a mother of one and proprietress of Golden Star Creation, a fashion outfit on Ago Palace Way, Okota, Lagos, was arrested on Friday at a bus terminal in Jibowu, Yaba, while attempting to move the cocaine consignment to customers in Abuja.

A statement by the NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Mr Femi Babafemi, on Sunday said a follow-up operation at her residence in Ago Palace led to the recovery of 200 grams of cutting agent used in producing a strain of cocaine.

In her statement, Ezewuike claimed she inherited the criminal trade from her late husband, who died two years ago, while she has been running her fashion business for 20 years.

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The statement further revealed that no fewer than 90 parcels of Loud, a strain of cannabis weighing 48.6kg, imported from the United States and concealed in three cartons of kitchen sinks, were intercepted at a courier company in Lagos on 19 August by NDLEA officers of the Directorate of Operations and General Investigation (DOGI).

In Adamawa State, NDLEA operatives, acting on credible intelligence, raided the home of a notorious drug dealer, Idris Garba, on Friday. He scaled a fence to escape arrest, while one of his associates, Boniface Nnaji, who attempted the same, was caught in the act at Rumde Baru, Yola South.

Items recovered from the premises included a black Toyota Tundra jeep marked FST-885-CZ, which Nnaji drove to Yola to supply Garba 354,480 pills of tramadol (225mg, 250mg and other variants), as well as a Toyota Yaris car with registration number DSA 776 AA.

Also, a total of 5,000 capsules of tramadol, 400 ampoules of pentazocine injection and 200 ampoules of diazepam injection were seized from a suspect, Neche Okonkwo, at Idah waterside. He had crossed the River Niger from Onitsha, Anambra State, into Lokoja, Kogi State, with the opioids on Wednesday.

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In Kano State, Babafemi said Buhari Ibrahim and Mansur Musa were arrested at Zangon Dakata, Ungogo, on 19 August with 5,850 capsules of pregabalin. On the same day, a total of 452,070 pills of opioids were recovered from the home of a suspect, Rabilu Mukhtar, who is still at large, at Rangaza, Ungogo LGA. Similarly, Buhari Idris was arrested at Tashan Rami, Kano, with 140 litres of codeine syrup.

No fewer than 7,000 capsules of tramadol were also seized from Adamu Yusuf along Zaria–Kano Road, Kwanar Dangora area, on Saturday, while a total of 2,289.49kg of skunk, a strain of cannabis, was intercepted in three interdiction operations in Kwara State.

Of this, 1,232.86kg was recovered from a Mitsubishi Canter truck marked ZUR 66 XT on 20 August at Ajase-Ipo, where a suspect, Kabiru Abdullahi, was arrested. Another consignment of the same substance weighing 328.42kg was seized from Paul Olaniran in a Mercedes-Benz truck marked LSD 659 YE on the same day and at the same location.

On 21 August, NDLEA operatives intercepted another consignment of skunk weighing 728.21kg in a Mitsubishi Canter truck with registration number GAD 287 XA, at Ajase-Ipo Junction, Ifelodun LGA, Kwara State, where two suspects, Abubakar Zaki and Yau Babangida, were arrested.

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Similarly, two suspects, Awe Sunday and Ayodele Adedayo, were arrested at Alafia Quarters, Ikere-Ekiti, Ekiti State, in connection with the seizure of 96kg of skunk. In Taraba State, NDLEA operatives, in conjunction with Civil Defence Corps personnel, destroyed 7,500kg of skunk cultivated on three hectares of farmland at Dadin Kowa village, Bali LGA, on 20 August, while 901kg of the same substance was recovered from a warehouse at Uzebba, Owan West LGA, Edo State, where a 54-year-old female suspect, Fodo Stella Sunday, was arrested on 19 August.

In another operation in Edo State, a total of 14,233.37kg of skunk was destroyed on four plantations measuring 5.69375 hectares at Ebule forest, Owan West LGA, on 20 August.

In Delta State, NDLEA operatives, supported by the military, destroyed 25,500kg of skunk on four plantations measuring 10.2 hectares in Emu-Obiogu community, Ndokwa West LGA, on 21 August. Similarly, in Ondo State, 25,025kg of the same psychoactive substance was destroyed on three farms with a combined measurement of 10.01 hectares at Asolo camp, Uso area of the state.

Babafemi added that two dispatch riders were arrested on 21 August by NDLEA officers during a stop-and-search operation in Jabi, Abuja, for distributing illicit substances in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). While Garba Sule was caught with 300mg of pentazocine injection, Isaac Augustine was found with 8.64g of skunk packaged for delivery.

While commending officers and men of DOGI, Lagos, Kano, Kogi, Kwara, Taraba, Delta, Adamawa, FCT, Ondo, Ekiti and Edo Commands for their arrests, seizures and professionalism, the Chairman and Chief Executive of NDLEA, Brig-Gen. Mohamed Marwa (Rtd), urged them and their colleagues across the country to sustain the Agency’s balanced approach to drug control.

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has issued a fresh warning to travelers, advising them on how to avoid being used as unwitting couriers by criminal drug syndicates.

The caution, delivered by the agency’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, in a post on his official X handle on Sunday, stresses a “narco-trend” where cartels use unsuspecting passengers to smuggle illicit drugs.

According to him, “Ensure you wait at the check in counter to see your luggage tagged and go off on the conveyor belt.” This step is critical to prevent airport insiders from planting drugs in a traveler’s bag after they have left the counter.

“Before you board at the foot of the plane, where applicable, please identify your luggage and ensure the details tally with the tag collected at the check in counter.”

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This provides a final check to ensure the bag hasn’t been tampered with or switched before loading, he noted.

“Never be in a hurry to ignore or overlook these steps. They will save you from the trauma of accounting for what you know nothing about or facing the consequences of the actions of criminal syndicates,” Babafemi wrote.

The NDLEA’s warning is a response to the prevalent use of “blind mules”—travelers who are unaware they are carrying drugs.

The post read: “Narco-trend update: More than ever before, it’s very important now that when embarking on local or international travels, ensure you wait at the check in counter to see your luggage tagged and go off on the conveyor belt. It’s equally significant that before you board at the foot of the plane, where applicable, please identify your luggage and ensure the details tally with the tag collected at the check in counter.

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Never be in a hurry to ignore or overlook these steps. They will save you from the trauma of accounting for what you know nothing about or facing the consequences of the actions of criminal syndicates which smuggle illicit drugs through innocent passengers. For me, I don’t travel with more than my hand luggage for years now. E get why!”

The agency has also foiled attempts to smuggle drugs concealed in car side mirrors and has shared videos on social media to educate the public on the sophisticated methods used by traffickers.

In a recent operation, the agency arrested a Lagos-based church general overseer for allegedly masterminding multiple shipments of illicit drugs from Ghana to Nigeria.

The Lagos State Police Command has arrested a 38-year-old security guard for allegedly breaking into an apartment and carting away household items worth about N1.8 million.

Police spokesperson, CSP Benjamin Hundeyin, disclosed the arrest in a statement released on Saturday, adding that the suspect was tracked down by officers attached to the Iju Police Division.

He said operatives from the Iju Division apprehended the suspect following a report from a resident of the Ifako area, who returned home on August 15 to find his house burgled.

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“Stolen items included a Sumec generator, a Fireman generator, a National air conditioner, and three air conditioner compressor engines, all valued at N1.8 million.

“Detectives arrested the suspect in the same neighbourhood after investigations revealed he conspired with others, who are still at large, to commit the crime,” Hundeyin said.

He added that the stolen items have been recovered, and efforts are ongoing to apprehend his accomplices.

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Hundeyin said the case would be charged in court upon completion of investigations.

The Commissioner of Police, Mr. Olohundare Jimoh, assured residents that the command would leave no stone unturned in bringing criminals to justice and urged employers to conduct proper background checks before hiring staff.