The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has dismantled a Lagos-based drug trafficking syndicate linked to attempts to smuggle cocaine to the United Kingdom, arresting its suspected kingpin and seizing illicit substances with a combined estimated street value exceeding ₦10 billion in coordinated operations across the country.
In a statement issued on Sunday, the agency’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, said the operation began on Wednesday, July 22, when NDLEA operatives at the export shed of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, intercepted 3.30 kilograms of cocaine concealed within the cardboard walls of food cartons bound for the UK.
The interception led to the arrest of three cargo agents identified as Nkwor Onyekachukwu Justina, Adeleke Abiola Taoheed, and Ukanwa Grace Pilgrim. Further investigation resulted in the arrest of Kenneth Okakpu, who allegedly delivered the consignment to the agents.
Babafemi said Okakpu’s arrest enabled investigators to identify 55-year-old Onuigbo Ndubisi Chinedu, a clothing trader at Balogun Market, Lagos, as the alleged leader of the syndicate. He was subsequently arrested while allegedly attempting to dispatch another cocaine consignment to the UK.
In a separate operation in Surulere, Lagos, NDLEA operatives arrested 31-year-old entrepreneur Emmanuella Chukwu-Edo at her residence, where they recovered 2.80 kilograms of “Loud,” a high-potency strain of cannabis. The substance had reportedly arrived from the United States on a United Airlines flight.
At the MMIA cargo terminal, officers also intercepted a pharmaceutical shipment from India transported through Air Maroc. A search of the consignment uncovered approximately 2.24 million tablets of Tapentadol 250mg, a highly addictive prescription opioid, with an estimated street value of more than ₦2.2 billion.
Meanwhile, at the Apapa Seaport in Lagos, NDLEA officers uncovered 4,777 sachets of Canadian Loud weighing a total of 2,388.5 kilograms. The illicit drugs were concealed inside three vehicles packed in a shipping container and are valued at over ₦7.1 billion.
The agency said the combined value of the major seizures exceeds ₦10 billion, underscoring the scale of the operations. NDLEA added that investigations are ongoing to identify and apprehend other members of the trafficking network, while the suspects already in custody are expected to be charged upon the conclusion of investigations in accordance with the NDLEA Act.
