NDLEA Busts Drug Syndicates: Cocaine in Food Flasks, Loud in Snacks, Over 17,000kg Skunk Destroyed Nationwide

By Ifeyinwa Ike

National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) operatives have intercepted cocaine and Loud cannabis hidden in food flasks and snack packs at Lagos’ Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA)arresting a fashion designer and several cargo agents.

On Thursday, April 9, 2026, officers at MMIA’s export shed seized 12 large parcels of cocaine weighing 2.80kg from food flasks bound for the UK through Virgin Atlantic.

Arrested were cargo agents Ama Obinna Ufeim (33) and Ogabi Monday Akorede (39), plus sender Agoro Tajudeen Moninuola (52) in a follow-up raid.

The prior day, April 8, import shed officers nabbed 2.90kg of Loud cannabis from US Delta Airlines snacks. Clearing agents Animashaun Moshood Adetunji and Mercy Gabriel Oluwasegun were detained, leading to consignee Saheed Adeshina Adegoke (29), a fashion designer at 3 Oba Ogunji Road, Ogba, Lagos, on April 13.

Forest raids yielded massive skunk seizures.
In Cross River’s Uwet community, Akamkpa LGA, on April 16, troops-backed NDLEA destroyed 15,000kg across six hectares, recovered 119kg, and arrested Alice Sunday Udoh (53).

Edo State’s Saboro camp, Ovia North East LGA, saw 2,281.43kg destroyed on April 14, with arrests of Nweke Smart (27), Christopher Egbe (62), and Monday Ayan (45) holding 38.5kg cannabis and seeds.

Additional busts included 847kg skunk (760 blocks, 33 jumbo bags) from a Kaduna-Zaria highway trailer to Jigawa on April 13, driver Umar Garba Haruna (33) arrested; 87.838kg at Okwo’s Powerline, Delta, nabbing Sunday Odili (49) and Ijenebe Joshua (39) on April 17; 95.8kg skunk at Petti, Lagos Island; and 11,900 tramadol capsules plus 400 phenobarbital ampoules at Mile 2, Lagos-Badagry expressway to Ghana, arresting Chinedu Ogbekene and Zindozin Aloukou Bienvenu on April 15.

In a statement, Femi Babafemi, Director of Media & Advocacy, NDLEA said
NDLEA ramped up War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) efforts in schools like Alfurgan Islamic School (Paiko, Niger), Edgerly
Memorial Girls (Calabar, Cross River), Heritage Model (Ankpa, Kogi), and others in Katsina, Kano, Lagos.

NDLEA Chairman, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa commended MMIA, Edo, Delta, Cross River, Kaduna, and Lagos commands for balancing supply reduction with sensitisation, urging sustained momentum