A China-based Nigerian businessman and two Angolan nationals have excreted a combined 236 wraps of cocaine after their arrest by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport and the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport.
The Nigerian suspect, Ibeanu Chukwudulue, 34, was arrested on Wednesday, February 4, 2026, while onboard a Qatar Airways flight from Kano to China via Abuja and Doha.
A statement on Sunday by the agency’s spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, said acting on intelligence, NDLEA operatives requested that he be deboarded in Abuja, where a body scan confirmed ingestion of illicit drugs.
“Acting on credible intelligence, NDLEA operatives at the Abuja airport demanded that the suspect be deboarded, following which he was taken for a body scan.
“The result confirmed the suspect ingested an illicit drug. He was thereafter placed under observation during which he excreted a total of 52 pellets of cocaine that weighed 735.95 grams. In his statement, Ibeanu said he was into business on Lagos Island before relocating to Guangzhou, China in 2024, ” the statement partly read.
At the Kano airport the same day, Babafemi said NDLEA officers intercepted two Angolan nationals—Mbandu Makiadi, 50, and Ngoma Wilson Fernando, 52—during outbound screening for an Ethiopian Airlines flight to Istanbul via Addis Ababa.
He added that body scans showed both men had ingested drugs.
“The duo of Mbandu Martins Makiadi, 50, and Ngoma Wilson Fernando, 52, both Angolans, were intercepted on Wednesday 4th February at the screening point of the departure hall of Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano during the outward clearance of passengers going to Istanbul, Turkey via Addis Ababa on Ethiopian Airlines flight ET940. When they were taken for a body scan, they tested positive for ingesting illicit drug.
“As a result, they were kept under observation for possible excretion. While Mbandu excreted a total of 76 wraps weighing 920 grams in seven excretions, Ngoma expelled 108 pellets that weighed 1.33 kilograms in five excretions.
“During the interview, the suspects who hail from Hoji Ya Henda in Luanda, the capital of Angola, claimed they were recruited by a Luanda-based automobile spare parts dealer who promised to pay them $3000 each upon successful delivery of the consignments in Turkey”, he said.
In a related operation in Lagos, Babafemi said NDLEA operatives thwarted an attempt by a convicted drug trafficker, Olashupo Michael Oladimeji, to export 1.10 kilograms of cocaine concealed in processed cassava granules (garri) to London on a Virgin Atlantic flight.
He also said Oladimeji is currently serving a five-year jail term at the Ikoyi Correctional Centre following his 2025 conviction for unlawful conspiracy to export 17.90 kilograms of cocaine.
According to him, investigations revealed he initiated the latest trafficking scheme from prison using his logistics company, Dimeji Express Logistics.
“A staff of Dimeji Express Logistics, Adedeji Yusuf Gbolahan, who presented the consignment for export, was promptly arrested. Investigations revealed that Olashupo Michael Oladimeji initiated the trafficking scheme from prison and directed Yusuf to pick the consignment at a location in Oshodi, ” he added.
Also in Lagos, Babafemi said NDLEA officers foiled another export attempt involving 1.70 kilograms of skunk concealed in five jerry cans destined for the United Kingdom.
He said a cargo agent was arrested at the export shed, while the suspect, Adelaja Taiwo Adetayo, 44, was later apprehended in the Ahmadiyya area of Lagos.
Further interceptions, according to him, included a waybill package in Abuja concealing Canadian Loud cannabis inside a children’s toy guitar, leading to the arrest of the consignor in Life Camp.
He said, “In Abuja, NDLEA operatives on Thursday, 12th February, intercepted a waybill package sent from Enugu containing children’s toy guitar. A search of the guitar revealed that it was used to conceal two parcels of Canadian Loud, a strain of Cannabis, weighing 59.2grams. A follow-up operation led to the arrest of the owner of the consignment, Henry Onuma at Dream City Estate, Life Camp.”
The statement added, “A notorious female drug dealer in Ibadan, Oyo state, Oluwayemisi Bunmi, 45, was on Wednesday, 11th February, arrested at her enclave in Hope Alakia area of the state capital. Recovered from her include: 1.189kg Colos, skunk; 320grams of methamphetamine; monetary exhibit of ₦2,975,000 and two cars: a Navy blue Toyota Matrix car marked JJJ 629 FQ and a Sky blue Toyota Matrix car with registration number LND 602 AQ. No fewer than 105,400 pills of tramadol were recovered from a suspect, Kamilu Abdullahi, 43, when his J5 vehicle marked DTM-765XA, was intercepted by NDLEA operatives at Bode Saadu area of Kwara state on Thursday, February 12.”
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has intensified nationwide interdiction efforts following a surge in attempts to smuggle illicit drugs through Nigeria’s international airports and logistics channels.
