Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency have arrested a Nigeria-born businessman resident in Brazil, Uche Franklin Onyekwere, for allegedly attempting to smuggle cocaine into the country through the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos.
The 47-year-old suspect was apprehended on Thursday, January 29, 2026, during the inward screening of passengers who arrived on a South African Airways flight from Brazil via Johannesburg, following what the agency described as credible intelligence.
In a statement issued on Sunday, the NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, said a body scan carried out on Onyekwere indicated the concealment of illicit substances, prompting further checks.
Babafemi explained that a subsequent search led to the recovery of wraps of cocaine allegedly hidden on the suspect’s body and inside his footwear.
According to him, three large wraps of the substance, with a combined weight of 1.60 kilograms, were recovered.
The NDLEA spokesman added that preliminary investigations revealed that the suspect allegedly bought the drugs in Brazil with the intention of selling them in Nigeria to raise funds for his business and to support a family ceremony.
He was said to have lived in Brazil since 2008, where he reportedly runs a toy business.
Meanwhile, in a series of related operations across the country, NDLEA operatives intercepted large consignments of illicit drugs and arrested several suspects.
At the Tincan Seaport in Lagos, officers uncovered 55 jumbo bags of Canadian Loud, a strong strain of cannabis, weighing 1,183 kilograms.
The consignment, imported from Canada, was discovered during a joint examination involving NDLEA, Customs and other security agencies.
The drugs were reportedly concealed inside two vehicles in a container.
In Niger State, NDLEA officers intercepted a truck along the Dei-Dei–Abuja Expressway and arrested three suspects — Andy Chidogu, Kenneth Ogene and Sadiq Olanrewaju — in connection with 176 bags of skunk weighing 2,735 kilograms, as well as one kilogram of synthetic cannabis.
The agency also recorded seizures in Edo State, where operatives arrested a suspect along the Auchi–Abuja Expressway with 66 bags of skunk hidden in charcoal sacks.
In a separate operation, officers, supported by the Nigerian Army, raided a cannabis farm in Esan South East Local Government Area, destroying large quantities of cannabis cultivated on over 1.6 hectares of land and arresting four suspects.
In Anambra State, NDLEA operatives intercepted a cement truck at Upper Iweka, Onitsha, recovering 345.2 kilograms of skunk concealed among bags of cement, while arrests were also made in Ondo and Kano states over seizures of cannabis, tramadol and pentazocine injections.
The NDLEA said investigations into all the cases were ongoing, as suspects would be charged to court upon the conclusion of inquiries.
