Source: Africa Publicity
Operatives of Nigeria’s National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a Lagos-based businessman and several other suspects in connection with an alleged drug trafficking operation involving cocaine valued at over N10 billion.
The agency disclosed that 55-year-old Onuigbo Ndubisi Chinedu, a clothing trader at Balogun Market on Lagos Island, was apprehended after investigators linked him to an attempt to smuggle 3.30 kilograms of cocaine to the United Kingdom.
The illicit substance was reportedly concealed inside the walls of cartons containing food items intended for export.
NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi said the shipment was intercepted by officers at the export section of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos on Wednesday, 22 July 2026, while the suspect was arrested a day later, on Thursday, 23 July, following intelligence-led investigations.
According to the agency, investigators initially arrested three cargo agents—Nkwor Onyekachukwu Justina, Adeleke Abiola Taoheed, and Ukanwa Grace Pilgrim—who processed the shipment. Their interrogation reportedly led to the arrest of Kenneth Okakpu, who delivered the consignment for export.
Further investigations identified Onuigbo as the alleged mastermind of the trafficking network.
NDLEA said he was eventually arrested while attempting to process another cocaine shipment destined for the United Kingdom.
In a separate operation, NDLEA officers arrested 31-year-old entrepreneur Emmanuella Chukwu-Edo at her residence in Surulere, Lagos, on Tuesday, 21 July. The arrest followed the interception of a parcel containing 2.80 kilograms of Loud, a potent synthetic strain of cannabis, which had arrived from the United States on a United Airlines flight the previous day.
Meanwhile, the agency also intercepted another shipment containing tramadol tablets concealed inside containers of black soap.
The consignment, which was also destined for the United Kingdom, was discovered during an inspection at a courier company in Lagos on Wednesday, 22 July.
The NDLEA said the operations demonstrate its continued commitment to disrupting drug trafficking networks and preventing illicit substances from being exported through Nigeria’s borders.
