In a series of operations, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has apprehended two suspected drug lords at major Nigerian airports, uncovering a total of 125 wraps of heroin.
NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi detailed the arrests in a statement released on Sunday. One of the suspects, 30-year-old Onyekwonike Elochuckwu Sylvanus, was captured at Port Harcourt International Airport on February 2, 2025, using a Sierra Leonean passport under the alias Kargbo Mohamed Foday, The Punch reports.
“He was intercepted during the inward clearance of passengers on a Qatar Airways flight from Doha via Abuja. A body scan confirmed he had ingested illicit drugs, and under observation, he excreted 62 wraps of heroin weighing 1.348 kilograms in five sessions,” Babafemi stated.
Sylvanus, who was found to have dual identities, admitted to engaging in drug trafficking since 2017 after his clothing and shoe business failed. He used his Nigerian and Sierra Leonean passports to move drugs across countries like Thailand, Pakistan, Iran, and West Africa.
The second suspect, James Chinoso, aged 48, was arrested at Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos on February 1, 2025, after arriving from Madagascar via Ethiopia.
“A body scan confirmed he had illicit drugs in his system. Under observation, he excreted 63 wraps of heroin weighing 909 grams,” Babafemi noted. Chinoso confessed to entering the drug trade after his phone accessories business in Liberia failed.
In other operations, on February 6, NDLEA operatives intercepted 2.82 kilograms of Loud, a synthetic cannabis strain, smuggled from the United States and destined for Lagos. The same day, a logistics firm in Lagos was discovered shipping 80 ampoules of pentazocine injection (225 grams) concealed in cartons to Canada.
In Kano, on February 3, Usaini Salisu and Yahaya Mu’azu, both 23, were arrested at Gadar Tamburawa with 15,396 tramadol pills hidden in a gas cylinder. Also in Kano, Chioma Okeke, 35, was arrested with 27 blocks of skunk (15 kg of cannabis) in Sabon Gari.
On February 8, NDLEA officers seized 12,800 tramadol 250mg pills along the Kabba-Obajana Highway in Kogi State, arresting Salisu Basiru, 33. The same day, 65 parcels of Colorado (1.6 kg of synthetic cannabis) intended for Jigawa State were recovered from Rufai Hassan, 32, at a checkpoint.
The NDLEA has pledged to continue its aggressive campaign against drug syndicates across the nation.