The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has apprehended a previously convicted drug offender, Nwobodo Basil, along with three cargo handlers, over an attempt to smuggle cocaine concealed in sachets of liquid starch to the United Kingdom.
According to the agency, operatives uncovered 75 wraps of cocaine weighing 1.50 kilogrammes hidden inside factory-sealed cold-water starch sachets at the export terminal of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos.
NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi disclosed in a statement on Sunday that three cargo agents—Jubrin Hassana, Kuku Oluwasegun, and Igwe Jane—were arrested on Saturday, December 20, 2025, in connection with the intercepted shipment.
Further investigations led NDLEA operatives to 37-year-old Nwobodo, identified as the mastermind behind the consignment. He was arrested the following day at a leisure spot in Ikeja.
The agency revealed that Nwobodo is a repeat offender who was convicted in 2023 for trafficking 30.10 kilogrammes of methamphetamine concealed in powdered custard containers bound for London. He was sentenced by a Federal High Court to five years in prison with an option of a ₦7 million fine, along with one month of community service. After paying the fine, he reportedly returned to drug trafficking.
In another operation, NDLEA officers in Gombe State arrested a 65-year-old driver, Sada’u Mohammed, along the Gombe–Biu highway while transporting 300 ampoules of pentazocine injections, 27,900 tramadol pills, and other opioids en route to Borno State.
Similarly, NDLEA operatives in Lagos arrested 47-year-old businessman Ignatius Egbochie, also known as Brown, in connection with an earlier seizure of 26 kilogrammes of Loud cannabis at the Tincan Seaport. The drugs were intercepted on December 10 during a joint inspection involving NDLEA, Customs, and other security agencies, while Egbochie was picked up in Apapa on December 19.
The agency also carried out multiple raids across Ekiti, Edo, Cross River, Abuja, Lagos, and Taraba states between December 21 and 25, 2025, destroying cannabis warehouses and recovering large quantities of illicit drugs.
In Ara Forest, Ara-Ekiti, NDLEA operatives set fire to wooden storage facilities and seized 638 kilogrammes of skunk cannabis. In Edo State, officers intercepted three vehicles along the Igara–Auchi Road, recovering 1,205 blocks of compressed cannabis weighing 883.1 kilogrammes.
Meanwhile, a raid at Agoi-Ibami community in Yakurr Local Government Area of Cross River State led to the arrest of three suspects—Freedom Jonah Akpama (27), David Itam David (30), and Nelson Arikpo Osam (26)—with a combined seizure of over 900 kilogrammes of skunk.
The NDLEA said the arrests and seizures are part of ongoing nationwide efforts to dismantle drug trafficking networks and curb the distribution of illicit substances.
