Brazilian Returnees Excrete 116 Wraps Of Heroin, Cocaine In Lagos

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested multiple suspects and intercepted large consignments of illicit substances at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, and across several states in the country.

The agency, in a statement signed by its Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, on Sunday, said the arrests included two Brazil returnees who excreted 116 wraps of heroin and cocaine, as well as a businesswoman caught concealing methamphetamine in butt pad underwear while attempting to board a flight at the Lagos airport.

According to the NDLEA, 46-year-old Ofoma Sunday was arrested on Tuesday, September 16, upon his arrival from Sao Paulo, Brazil, via Addis Ababa on an Ethiopian Airlines flight. A body scan confirmed he ingested illicit drugs, hence was placed under observation.

“Ofoma had left Nigeria for Brazil on 3rd September to courier the consignment to Lagos for a reward of $2,500 upon successful delivery,” the agency disclosed.

A follow-up operation at Eliata Hotel in Amuwo Odofin, Lagos, led to the arrest of 55-year-old Nweke Jude Chuckwudi, who was designated to oversee the excretion of the drugs. Ofoma eventually excreted 111 wraps of heroin weighing 1.452 kilograms in eight batches.

Similarly, 31-year-old Ukachukwu Frank Ikechukwu was arrested on September 19 during inward clearance of passengers from Brazil. He expelled five wraps of cocaine weighing 145 grams.

“In his statement, he confessed to have bought nine wraps of the class A drug in Brazil and inserted all into his anus, a process he claimed took him nearly two hours,” NDLEA revealed.

Ikechukwu said he lost two wraps after experiencing severe anal pain in Addis Ababa and expelled more in-flight, leaving him with only five at the time of his arrest.

He added that he had previously lived in the U.S. before being deported in 2022, and had returned to Brazil in March 2025, where he obtained residency.

On Sunday, September 14, operatives at Terminal 2 of the Lagos airport, in collaboration with Aviation Security (AVSEC), arrested 38-year-old businesswoman Okolonkwo Ebere Theresa while she attempted to board a Qatar Airways flight to Doha.

**Okolonkwo Ebere, a businesswoman arrested by NDLEA for concealing methamphetamine in butt pad underwear**

“After a thorough search, two big parcels of white crystalline substance that later tested positive to methamphetamine with a gross weight of 1.40 kilograms were recovered from her butt pad underwear,” the Agency said.

Ebere, who claimed to be a trader in used clothing and operator of a POS business in Enugu, confessed that she had been recruited into the drug trade.

On September 15, NDLEA operatives at the NAHCO export shed of the Lagos airport intercepted a consignment of food items concealing 40 wraps of methamphetamine weighing 2.30 kilograms, destined for Hong Kong via Turkish Airlines.

A 59-year-old suspect, Umelo Ifeanyi Venatus, who presented the shipment, was arrested.

Three days later, on September 18, operatives discovered 257 grams of cocaine hidden in seven phone chargers bound for New Zealand at a Lagos courier company.

NDLEA operatives also intercepted massive drug consignments across several states.

In Adamawa, 233,800 pills of tramadol were recovered in three separate raids, with suspects arrested. These included 195,600 pills found in an abandoned vehicle, 27,900 pills seized from a suspect’s bedroom, and 10,300 pills recovered from another suspect at a checkpoint.

In Zamfara, 109 bags of skunk weighing 1,099.4kg were seized from a truck along the Gummi-Daki Takwas road, with 40-year-old suspect Hammed Danladi Aliyu arrested.

Also, in Yobe, two suspects were caught with 14,000 capsules of tramadol along the Damaturu-Potiskum road.

However, in Taraba, operatives arrested 28-year-old Anas Hamisu with three sacks of skunk weighing 25.525kg.

While in Edo, NDLEA officers destroyed two cannabis farms spanning 4.5 hectares in Atororo forest, Owan West LGA, with an estimated yield of over 11,000kg. They also recovered 148kg of processed skunk and seeds, and arrested three suspects at the site.

The Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), lauded the successes, describing the arrests and seizures as “a significant milestone in our determined effort to dismantle drug trafficking organizations operating in Nigeria and around the world.”

He added, “We will continue to prioritize those bent on targeting our productive youth population with illicit substances until they’re no longer able to inflict harm on our communities or misrepresent our country’s image in the global space.”

Marwa commended the officers of MMIA, DOGI, Adamawa, Zamfara, Edo, Taraba, and Yobe Commands, and urged them and their colleagues nationwide to sustain the Agency’s balanced approach of enforcement and sensitization.

The agency said its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitization campaigns continued nationwide during the week, with lectures held in schools, religious institutions, and communities, including Sultan Abdulrahman College of Health Technology in Sokoto, Sarki Abdul Primary School in Katsina, and Government Secondary School in Jigawa, among others.