A 30-year-old Italy-based businessman, Joseph Cyril, has been arrested by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu, after ingesting 98 wraps of cocaine.
Cyril was arrested on Sunday, August 2, 2026, during the outward clearance of passengers boarding Ethiopian Airlines flight ET930 to Europe via Addis Ababa and France.
According to the NDLEA Director, Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, the suspect was subsequently placed under excretion observation, during which he expelled 98 wraps of cocaine weighing 1.510 kilogrammes.
Investigations revealed that Cyril arrived in Nigeria from Italy on July 13 and allegedly ingested the cocaine in a hotel in Awka, Anambra State, before travelling to Enugu to board his flight.
The suspect reportedly told investigators that he had agreed to traffic the consignment for €3,500 to raise money to relocate to Germany, where his family is based.
In Lagos, NDLEA operatives also intercepted 1.2 kilogrammes of cocaine concealed in 25 phone chargers destined for Saudi Arabia, while another 500 grammes of cocaine hidden in the false bottom of a backpack and bound for Italy was seized at a logistics company.
The agency further intercepted 2.3 kilogrammes of Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis, imported from the United States.
In Ondo State, operatives intercepted a truck along the Akure-Ilesha Expressway carrying 1,633 kilogrammes of skunk concealed in bags of rice shafts. Two suspects, Buba Jamilu, 40, and Sanusi Ibrahim, 30, were arrested.
Another 147 kilogrammes of skunk was recovered from Ita Ogbolu Forest during a separate raid.
In Oyo State, NDLEA operatives raided a drug warehouse in Elebure village, Orire Local Government Area, recovering 731.03 kilogrammes of illicit drugs and arresting 57-year-old Felicia Thompson, while her alleged partner, Thompson Vincent Nwaka, remains at large.
In Edo State, 65 jumbo bags of skunk weighing 604.5 kilogrammes were recovered at Ewe Luleha, Owan West LGA, during an operation supported by soldiers.
Meanwhile, in Abia State, a suspected drug joint operator, 31-year-old Chibuike Charles, was arrested during a raid at Samec by Powerline base in Osisioma LGA, where seven kilogrammes of skunk was seized.
In Lagos, a wanted drug dealer, Adome Claude Sikuru, was arrested at the Fibre Market drug jungle in Badagry after a three-month manhunt. Operatives recovered 88.5 kilogrammes of skunk from him.
At the Tincan Port Complex, Lagos, NDLEA operatives, in collaboration with the Nigeria Customs Service and other security agencies, discovered 73 cartons containing 442 packets of cannabis-infused cookies and gummies weighing 309.4 kilogrammes in a 40-foot container. A suspect, Larry Nnaji, was arrested in connection with the seizure.
The NDLEA said its commands across the country also sustained its War Against Drug Abuse sensitisation campaign in schools, worship centres, workplaces and communities.
The Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the agency, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd.), commended officers involved in the operations and urged personnel to sustain the agency’s balanced approach to drug control.
The latest operations underscore the NDLEA’s continued efforts to disrupt both domestic drug trafficking and international attempts to smuggle illicit substances through Nigeria’s airports, courier companies, ports and land routes.
