Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency have intercepted cocaine and cannabis consignments concealed in food flasks and snack packs, while also arresting several suspects across different parts of the country.
The agency said 12 parcels of cocaine, weighing 2.80 kilograms, were discovered hidden in the false bottom of food flasks bound for the United Kingdom through a Virgin Atlantic flight at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.
In a statement issued by its spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, the NDLEA said the seizure occurred on Thursday, April 9, 2026, at the airport export shed, leading to the arrest of two cargo agents, Ama Obinna Ufeim (33) and Ogabi Monday Akorede (39). A 52-year-old freight forwarder, Agoro Moninuola, was later arrested as the alleged sender.
“The cocaine consignment with a gross weight of 2.80 kilograms was intercepted on Thursday, 9th April 2026, by NDLEA operatives attached to the export shed of the Lagos airport, while two cargo agents involved in the export bid… were swiftly arrested,” the statement read.
In a separate operation at the import shed of the same airport, NDLEA operatives also intercepted 2.90 kilograms of Loud cannabis concealed in snack packs that arrived from the United States via Delta Air Lines on April 8.
Two cargo agents were initially arrested before the consignee, a 29-year-old fashion designer identified as Saheed Adeshina Adegoke, was picked up in Ogba, Lagos.
Babafemi further said the agency recorded additional seizures nationwide as part of ongoing operations.
In Kaduna State, officers intercepted a cement-laden trailer carrying 847 kilograms of skunk along the Kaduna–Zaria highway, arresting the driver, Umar Haruna (33).
In Cross River State, operatives, with military support, arrested a 53-year-old woman, Alice Udoh, during a raid on a cannabis plantation in Uwet community, Akamkpa LGA, where 15,000 kilograms of skunk on six hectares were destroyed and 119 kilograms recovered.
In Edo State, a cannabis farm raid led to the destruction of 2,281.43 kilograms of skunk and the arrest of three suspects, with 38.5 kilograms and seeds recovered.
In Delta State, two suspects were arrested with 87.838 kilograms of skunk and cannabis seeds.
Back in Lagos, NDLEA operatives arrested two men, Chinedu Ogbekene and Zindozin Bienvenu, along the Lagos–Badagry Expressway with 11,900 capsules of tramadol and 400 ampoules of phenobarbital allegedly bound for Ghana.
On the Lagos Island axis, another raid on a two-storey building led to the recovery of 95.8 kilograms of skunk.
The Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA, Mohamed Buba Marwa, commended the operatives for their sustained efforts in both drug interdiction and public sensitisation under the War Against Drug Abuse campaign, urging them to maintain the momentum.
