The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a 48-year-old marble dealer allegedly attempting to smuggle 1.55 kilogrammes of cocaine to India, as the agency reported a series of drug seizures across Nigeria valued at more than ₦3.6 billion.
The suspect, Nwankwo Innocent Onyebuchi, was arrested at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos while preparing to board a Qatar Airways flight to New Delhi, the NDLEA said in a statement on Sunday.
According to the agency, officers found 1.55kg of cocaine concealed inside the side walls and railings of his check-in bag. NDLEA said Onyebuchi told investigators that he had sold his marble business and other assets to raise ₦23 million to buy the consignment, which he expected to sell in India for as much as ₦100 million.
The suspect remains in custody pending prosecution. The allegations have not been tested in court.
The airport arrest was part of a wider enforcement operation that also uncovered large quantities of controlled substances in Lagos and other states.
In Lagos, NDLEA operatives recovered 377,600 bottles of codeine-based syrup, valued by the agency at more than ₦2.6 billion. The seizure was made between August 7 and 8 during a raid on a warehouse in the Ago Palace area of Okota.
In a separate operation in Ipaja, the agency said it recovered 324kg of Colorado, a synthetic strain of cannabis, with an estimated street value of ₦972 million. Two vehicles were also recovered from the residence of a suspected drug trafficker.
Elsewhere, NDLEA reported the seizure of 55.96kg of cannabis in Kwara and 52,000 ampoules of pentazocine and 6,000 ampoules of tramadol injections in Oyo.
Operations in Delta yielded 124,100 tramadol tablets, codeine syrup and other controlled substances, while officers in Plateau recovered 239,490 Tramaforce capsules, a brand of tramadol.
In Kano, six suspects were arrested with 728,958 pills of opioids, including tramadol and Rohypnol, as well as 360 grams of cocaine, 99.8 grams of methamphetamine, codeine syrup and 2.7kg of Loud, another synthetic cannabis strain.
The NDLEA also reported the destruction of 4,628.98kg of cannabis from two farms covering about 1.85 hectares in Edo State.
The scale of the seizures underscores the range of substances targeted by Nigerian authorities, from cocaine and cannabis to pharmaceutical opioids and codeine-based products. The agency said its operations formed part of continuing efforts to reduce both the supply of illicit drugs and their distribution within the country.
NDLEA Chairman Mohamed Buba Marwa commended officers involved in the operations and urged continued enforcement alongside drug-prevention efforts.
