The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a 38-year-old businessman, Philip Tunde, with 4.80kg of cocaine allegedly concealed in the soles of shoes and the railings of travelling bags at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos.
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a 38-year-old businessman, Philip Tunde, with 4.80kg of cocaine allegedly concealed in the soles of shoes and the railings of travelling bags at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos.
According to a statement signed by the NDLEA Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, Tunde was arrested on Sunday, September 27, 2026, at the joint screening point of Terminal 2 while preparing to board a Royal Air Maroc flight to Milan, Italy.
The agency said a search of the suspect led to the recovery of 16 parcels of white powder concealed in the soles of eight pairs of trainers and canvas shoes, as well as 195 wraps of the substance hidden in the railings of four travelling bags.
The substances tested positive for cocaine and weighed 4.80kg in total, the NDLEA said.
During interrogation, Tunde allegedly told investigators that he paid N16 million in cash for the cocaine concealed in the shoes, while the consignment hidden in the bags was intended for delivery to his partner in Italy.
He also claimed that he raised the money from compensation paid to him after he sustained an injury at a plastic manufacturing company in Italy, where he lost the tips of two fingers.
Meanwhile, NDLEA operatives at the Apapa, Tin Can Island and Onne ports have intercepted consignments of Loud, a potent strain of cannabis, and codeine-based cough syrup worth more than N5 billion following months of intelligence gathering and tracking of the shipments from their ports of origin.
At the Apapa Port in Lagos, NDLEA officers, acting on intelligence, subjected two containers from Bangkok, Thailand, to 100 per cent examination alongside Customs officials and other stakeholders.
A search of one of the containers on Saturday, September 3, led to the recovery of 161 parcels of Thai Loud weighing 124kg and valued at N372 million. The drugs were concealed in two refrigerators and two cartons.
At the Onne Port in Rivers State, two containers placed on the NDLEA watchlist following processed intelligence were subjected to a joint examination with Customs officials and other security agencies.
The exercise led to the recovery of 40 packs of Loud weighing 22kg, concealed in a travelling bag and three of the five vehicles shipped in one of the containers.
The second container contained 109,600 bottles of codeine-based cough syrup weighing 16,440kg. According to the NDLEA, the container had departed India for Saudi Arabia, where details of its origin were deleted to evade detection.
The codeine and Loud consignments had a combined street value of N833.2 million.
At the Tin Can Island Port in Lagos, NDLEA operatives on Tuesday, September 29, conducted a joint examination of a watch-listed container from Montreal, Canada, alongside Customs officials and other stakeholders.
The operation resulted in the seizure of 2,595 parcels of Canadian Loud weighing 1,297.5kg and valued at more than N3.8 billion.
The consignment was concealed inside a Toyota Sienna and a Hyundai Elantra, alongside 24 blue drums and six jumbo bags in the container.
In Osun State, NDLEA operatives destroyed 20,234kg of skunk cultivated on 8.0936 hectares of cannabis farm in Area 4, Ife South Local Government Area, on Wednesday, September 30.
In Plateau State, a 41-year-old suspect, Agbo Dennis, was arrested on Tuesday, September 29, in the West of Mines area of Jos North following the seizure of 33 bags of skunk weighing 385kg.
In Lagos, NDLEA operatives on Monday, September 28, raided an unoccupied compound at Divine Estate, Ago Palace, where they recovered 209,000 tablets of tramadol.
A 23-year-old suspect, Ekundayo Taiwo, was subsequently arrested on Wednesday, September 30, at Ladipo Spare Parts Market during a follow-up operation.
The agency said his arrest followed the seizure of 61 grammes of Colorado, a synthetic strain of cannabis, and 24 grammes of methamphetamine concealed inside a bottle of energy drink and packaged as a waybill consignment from a commercial bus driver along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.
In Kogi State, NDLEA officers on patrol along the Okene-Lokoja Highway on Wednesday, September 30, intercepted a Lagos-Abuja-bound commuter bus and recovered two sachets containing methamphetamine with a combined weight of 1kg, concealed in a waybill.
A follow-up operation led to the arrest of the owner of the consignment, 29-year-old Michael Chukwuememka Uzoma, in Utako, Abuja.
In Edo State, NDLEA operatives on Friday, October 2, raided the residence of 35-year-old Saturday Omimi in Uyere community, Ovia North-East Local Government Area, recovering 32.2kg of cannabis sativa.
On the same day, 23-year-old Osazuwa Iyabor Michael was arrested at Auchi Bypass, Benin City, with 59 grammes of Loud, 12 grammes of Colorado, 19 grammes of tramadol, 16 grammes of methamphetamine, 4 grammes of Swinol and 4 grammes of Molly.
The agency also announced the arrest of 47-year-old fugitive Idris Mohammed Kurra, six years after he allegedly jumped bail in a drug-related case before the Federal High Court in Jos, Plateau State.
Kurra was arrested by NDLEA operatives on Tuesday, September 29. He had been facing trial over the alleged possession and dealing in 198kg of skunk but allegedly jumped bail granted by the court in December 2020 and remained at large.
The NDLEA also said its commands and formations across the country sustained their War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation activities in schools, worship centres, workplaces and communities during the week.
The activities included enlightenment lectures for students and staff of St. Paul’s Secondary School, Oji, Enugu; Olu-Odo Primary School, Igbogbo, Ikorodu, Lagos; Government Junior Secondary School, Tsamiya, Kano; Christ’s School, Ado Ekiti; and Government Science Secondary School, Lokoja, Kogi State, among others.
While commending officers and men of the MMIA, Apapa, Tin Can Island, PHPC, Lagos, Edo, Bauchi, Plateau and Osun Commands for their professionalism and intelligence-driven operations, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), urged them and their colleagues across the country to sustain efforts against drug trafficking networks.
Marwa also urged the officers to maintain the agency’s “current balanced approach to the drug control efforts of the Agency.”