By Emmanuel Onyedika
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) says its operatives have intercepted a 38-year-old businesswoman at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, after discovering a large consignment of cocaine concealed in the false bottom of her luggage.
According to NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi, the suspect was arrested on June 21 while attempting to board a Qatar Airways flight to Beijing, China. A search of her check-in luggage revealed 7.5 kilograms of cocaine hidden in four parcels.
In another major operation, NDLEA’s Special Operations Units tracked a container laden with 195 sacks of Canadian Loud, a potent strain of cannabis, for over four weeks. The shipment, valued at N12.3 billion, weighed 4,959 kilograms and was seized during a joint examination at the Apapa ports complex, Lagos, alongside Customs and other security agencies.
Babafemi explained that the consignment originated from Toronto, Canada, and was monitored from April until its arrival in Lagos in June.
Meanwhile, NDLEA operatives in Abuja, working with colleagues in Anambra, uncovered a syndicate planting illicit drugs in the luggage of unsuspecting passengers at motor parks. Their trick was exposed when officers intercepted a consignment of methamphetamine in a Sienna bus from Nnewi, Anambra State, at Abaji, FCT, on June 20. The drugs were concealed inside a waybill package wrapped in black nylon bag.
The agency said investigations are ongoing into all three cases, reaffirming its commitment to dismantling drug trafficking networks and protecting Nigerians from illicit substances.