NDLEA Arrests 74-Year Old Man With Large Consignment Of Cocaine At Abuja Airport

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a 74-year-old grandpa, identified as Ikwuakalom Nwakoro Emeka, at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA), Abuja, after a large consignment of cocaine was discovered in foil papers and balloons concealed in his luggage.

Naija News reports that the NDLEA Director, Media & Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, in a statement issued on Sunday, disclosed that its operatives at the departure hall of the Abuja airport arrested Emeka while attempting to board a British Airways flight BA082 to Heathrow, London, United Kingdom, on Saturday, March 14, 2026.

During a search of the septuagenarian’s luggage, blocks of cocaine weighing 11 kilograms were discovered concealed inside food items, including ground dry pepper, carefully wrapped in foil papers and balloons.

The statement further disclosed that in Lagos, NDLEA operatives acting on credible intelligence in the early hours of Monday, March 9, arrested a woman, identified as Maryam Olalowo, at Ikad Hotel and Suites, on Etim Inyang Street, Victoria Island, while attempting to sell 89grams of cocaine and 20grams of Canadian Loud, a strain of cannabis.

“She was found with her three children, including an infant, at the time of the arrest. She confessed the illicit drugs belong to her husband, Ibrahim Olalowo Olatunji, who was later taken into custody same day while his wife was immediately set free.

“Ibrahim confirmed ownership of the illicit drugs in his statement, while further investigation revealed that he had previously been arrested, convicted, and sentenced to two and a half years’ imprisonment for a similar offence in 2015.”

Also, NDLEA operatives, in another interdiction operation, arrested two suspects: Kalilou Simpara and Saidu Ibrahim at Ebetu Ero, Lagos Island, where they recovered 68,000 pills of tramadol 250mg and 225mg after they had loaded the exhibits into their truck and were preparing to transport them to the Benin Republic on Monday, March 9.

A follow-up operation was conducted on Wednesday, March 11, at the Idumota market on Lagos Island, where the actual owner of the consignment, Nnamdi Cyprian, was arrested.

The statement stressed, “A search of his shop led to the discovery of a parcel already prepared for waybill delivery, containing 1,000 tablets of tramadol 250mg. Another raid at Idumota market on Friday, March 13, led to the arrest of Nwanosike Kelvin and the recovery of 47,500 ampoules of pentazocine injection from his shop.

“While a 42-year-old Magaji Dan Azumi was arrested at Bebeji area of Kano with 386kg skunk on Tuesday, March 10, NDLEA officers in Abuja recovered 282.2kg skunk from a suspect, Isah Wako, 42, in Gwagwalada area of the FCT on Friday, March 13.”

The NDLEA operatives also raided the Egwa forest reserve in Aduan village, Orhionmwon LGA, in Edo State, where a 33-year-old suspect, Chinedo Odalonu, 33, was apprehended and a total of 4,218.96kg of skunk was destroyed on two farms, with 16.5kg of the same substance recovered.

The statement further stated that no fewer than 339,800 bottles of codeine-based syrup were intercepted in two containers at the Apapa seaport in Lagos on Saturday, March 14, during a joint examination of the shipments by NDLEA officers, men of Customs and other security agencies.

The agency noted that the containers had earlier been watch-listed by NDLEA following credible intelligence on concealment of opioids in them.

While commending the officers and men of NAIA, Lagos, Kano, Edo and FCT Commands of the Agency for the arrests and seizures of the past week, Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd) also praised their counterparts in all the commands across the country for pursuing a fair balance between their drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction efforts.