NDLEA Busts Fake Pregnancy Drug Smuggler, Ivorian Cocaine Swallower in Kano, Nabs Real Estate CEO Drug Kingpin in Lagos Raid

By Linda Ike

Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have dismantled multiple drug trafficking schemes across Nigeria, arresting high-profile suspects including a real estate CEO, a 68-year-old grandmother, and a woman using a fake pregnancy bump to smuggle opioids.

In a bizarre interception at the Seme land border in Lagos on February 16, NDLEA officers stopped 35-year-old Kano-based business woman Rabi Muhammad attempting to cross into Cotonou, Benin Republic.

A body search revealed her protruding baby bump, a pink calabash gourd hiding 3,200 tramadol capsules tied around her waist.

That same day at Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport (MAKIA), officers nabbed 41-year-old Ivorian Michael Gohouri (aka Anunwa Onyinye Michael) during screening for Ethiopian Airlines flight ET940 to Milan via Addis Ababa. A body scan led to his observation, where he excreted 82 wraps of cocaine totaling 1.49kg. Gohouri, from Rue deuce Avenue 13, Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire with an Ivorian father and mother from Anunwa compound, Urunnebo village, Ukwan, Enugu State had arrived in Lagos from Milan on January 17, shuttled to Enugu and Kano, then ingested the drugs in a Kano hotel.

He expected €5,000 for delivery in Milan and holds an Italian resident permit expiring May 25, 2026, plus a Nigerian NIN.Real Estate Boss and Cartel Raids in Lagos, Other States

NDLEA arrested 57-year-old Kolapo Oladapo Raji, CEO of Trans Fortress Global Resources, at his Safe Court Apartment in Ikate, Lekki, Lagos, on February 12, after tracking him from the UK since 2025. Searches yielded 89.20kg of Canadian Loud cannabis in four bags and a 2024 Toyota Hilux.

Raji admitted starting after financing overseas shipments, then building his own network with millions in profits.

Other Lagos busts included Ugwuja Kingsley with 56kg skunk at Agbara (February 19) and Ekwe Arinze with 76kg at Oshodi motor park (February 17)

In Rivers State’s Port Harcourt Ports Complex, Onne, officials seized 170,900 bottles of codeine syrup from a container via joint inspection with Customs.Kogi State patrols on the Okene/Lokoja highway recovered 7,300 tramadol 225mg pills hidden in bus sound systems (February 15), leading to arrests of Ezenma Kingsley, 26, and Ezeja Anthony, 29, in Zuba, Abuja (February 17).Ondo State raids netted Bright Timothy, 28, with 195kg skunk and seeds at Iju forest, and Godwin Bernard with 198kg in forest enclaves (both February 19).

In Bauchi’s Azare, Katagun LGA, Yahaya Adamu Gimba, 48, yielded 936kg skunk (February 17), plus 85.8kg from him, Nasiru Suleman, 36, Abdul Umar, 25, and Musa Suleman, 21. Delta State’s Ughelli saw 37kg skunk seized from Mgbeme Ejeoma, 34, at Club Street, Ekeredjebor (February 17).

In Edo’s Owan West LGA Etiosa camp, same day, officers destroyed 1,266.8475kg skunk on three farms, recovered 23kg processed cannabis, and arrested 68-year-old grandmother Evelyn Ogenewu and Friday Iruoje, 43.

NDLEA commands also ramped up War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation in schools across Oyo, Yobe, Imo, Gombe, Cross River, Kano, and Lagos.

NDLEA Chairman/CEO Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa, praised the MAKIA, Seme, Lagos, Edo, Bauchi, Onne, Ondo, Delta, and Kogi teams for their supply and demand reduction efforts.