NDLEA Nabs Two Brazil Returnees With 116 Wraps Of Cocaine At Lagos Airport

Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested two passengers who returned from Brazil with hard drugs concealed in their bodies.

The suspects, identified as Ofoma Sunday and Ukachukwu Frank Ikechukwu, were apprehended on their arrival at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos. Upon close observation, both men were placed under NDLEA’s watch in the agency’s observatory facility, where they eventually excreted a total of 116 wraps of illicit substances.

Preliminary investigations revealed that the substances were a combination of heroin and cocaine, packed in small wraps and ingested for concealment. The method, though dangerous, remains a common tactic used by international drug syndicates to traffic narcotics across borders while evading security checks.

According to NDLEA sources, the suspects had arrived from Brazil, one of the world’s major sources of cocaine, and were intercepted during routine checks at the airport. After days of monitoring, they were compelled to excrete the substances in batches.

The agency noted that swallowing narcotics not only endangers the suspects’ health—posing risks of ruptures, overdose, or death if a wrap bursts inside the body—but also reflects the growing desperation of international cartels to exploit Nigerians in their networks.

NDLEA Chairman, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), has repeatedly warned that the agency remains vigilant at all Nigerian entry points and will continue to dismantle drug trafficking networks, both local and international. He stressed that the arrests underscore NDLEA’s determination to stop Nigeria from being used as a transit hub for narcotics.

The suspects are currently in custody and will be arraigned in court once investigations are concluded.