NDLEA arrests Ugandan woman with 87 cocaine wraps concealed in underwear

…Suspect allegedly recruited through religious trip; as agency intercepts 750,000 opioid tablets worth N900m

By Adebola Muili

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a 34-year-old Ugandan woman, Farida Nansubuga, with 87 wraps of cocaine weighing 1.15 kilogrammes, allegedly concealed around her pelvic region, while attempting to smuggle the drugs out of Nigeria.

The suspect was arrested on Tuesday, November 3, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos, while preparing to board a flight to Uganda, following a joint passenger screening exercise by NDLEA operatives and aviation security personnel.

A body search conducted on her raised suspicion about a substance concealed around her pelvic region, prompting operatives to take her to a designated private search room for a secondary examination.

The search led to the recovery of 87 wraps of cocaine with a gross weight of 1.15 kilogrammes, strapped around her pelvic region and held in place beneath two layers of underwear.

During preliminary interrogation, Nansubuga reportedly told investigators that she arrived in Nigeria on October 29 with members of her church for a prayer session at The Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN), in the Ikotun-Egbe area of Lagos.

She said that after the religious gathering, other members of her delegation returned to Uganda while she remained behind to collect the illicit consignment on behalf of a friend identified only as Joy, who resides in Uganda.

According to her account, Joy directed her to a contact in Nigeria, who arranged a vehicle to convey her to a hotel on the morning of her scheduled departure.

She reportedly said it was at the hotel that the man handed her the cocaine and instructed her to conceal it beneath her clothing to evade security checks at the airport.

Although she claimed that no definite payment was agreed upon for the assignment, she said she expected to receive at least $1,000 upon successful delivery of the consignment.

The arrest was among several drug trafficking interceptions and seizures recorded by the agency across the country, including the interception of 750,000 tablets of Tapentadol valued at about N900 million at the Lagos airport.

The opioid tablets, weighing 526 kilogrammes, were discovered in a consignment imported from India and falsely declared as Paracetamol Tablets 500mg.

The consignment, comprising 11 cartons packed in two wooden structures, arrived at the import shed of the airport on Tuesday, November 3, aboard an Ethiopian Airlines flight from Ahmedabad, India.

Suspicious of the cargo declaration, NDLEA operatives placed the consignment under surveillance before conducting a joint examination with officers of the Nigeria Customs Service and other sister agencies on Friday, November 6.

The examination revealed that 10 of the 11 cartons contained the Tapentadol tablets, while only the last carton contained paracetamol tablets, allegedly used as cover for the illicit shipment.

In another operation at the airport, operatives on Wednesday, November 4, intercepted 32 parcels of Loud, a strain of cannabis, weighing 16.15 kilogrammes, concealed inside two wooden sofas in a consolidated cargo that arrived from Houston, Texas, United States, aboard a Turkish Airlines flight.

A freight agent, Ibrahim Abdulwaheed Adewale, who presented himself to clear the consignment, was arrested.

A follow-up operation conducted on Friday, November 6, led to the arrest of a 34-year-old Ibadan-based caterer, Adeoye Sarafa Ojo, who came to collect the package.

Ojo reportedly claimed that he was sent by a friend identified as Taiwo Anuoluwapo Olusegun.

The agency also uncovered a syndicate allegedly involved in importing chemicals used in the production of Colorado, a synthetic cannabis, from the United Kingdom.

The operation followed the interception of nine parcels of illicit substances concealed in two cartons of snacks labelled “Michael Tea Guy” in a consolidated cargo that arrived aboard an Air Peace flight from the UK on Friday, October 23.

Two of the parcels contained 1.20 kilogrammes of cannabis, while forensic analysis of the remaining seven confirmed that they contained chemicals used in the production of synthetic cannabis.

A 51-year-old freight agent, Afolabi Abiodun Wale, who came forward to clear the consignment, was arrested.

Two additional cartons addressed to the same recipient subsequently arrived from the UK aboard an Allied Air flight.

A sting operation conducted between Monday, October 26, and Wednesday, October 28, led to the arrest of another 51-year-old suspect, Okwuite Benjamin Ojone, when he attempted to take delivery of the four cartons.

A search of the two additional cartons uncovered three parcels weighing 3.30 kilogrammes concealed in two packs of detergent, as well as 11 plastic bottles containing mostly liquid substances weighing 16.25 kilogrammes.

The seizures brought the total recovery from the syndicate to 1.20 kilogrammes of cannabis and 28.65 kilogrammes of chemicals suspected to be used in producing synthetic cannabis.

Meanwhile, NDLEA operatives at courier companies in Lagos intercepted 46 blocks of cannabis weighing 22.2 kilogrammes, packed in two cartons and destined for the United Kingdom, on Tuesday, November 3.

Earlier, on Friday, October 30, operatives intercepted 296 tablets of Swinol destined for Australia from Lagos, alongside three consignments of tramadol bound for the UK.

The tramadol shipments comprised 20 capsules from Benin City and 96 capsules from Sapele, Delta State, both concealed in vitamin C containers, as well as 600 tablets of Tramadol 225mg from Asaba, hidden inside female headwear.

In a separate operation in Lagos, a 32-year-old man, Abubakar Ali, was arrested on Friday, November 6, at Marine Beach, Apapa, where operatives recovered various drugs from a small store he had constructed inside the sitting room of his apartment.

The recovered substances included 1.06 kilogrammes of Tramadol 250mg, 1.27 kilogrammes of Tramadol 225mg, 400 grammes of pregabalin capsules, 355 grammes of diazepam, 200 millilitres of codeine and 6.07 kilogrammes of cannabis.

In Ondo State, NDLEA operatives on Friday, November 6, raided Odofin Road, Uso, where they recovered 148 bags of cannabis weighing 1,818 kilogrammes.

On the same day, the operatives raided a cannabis farm in Board Forest, destroyed a one-hectare plantation, recovered another 242 kilogrammes of the substance and arrested a 36-year-old suspect, Itoro Linus Akpan.

In neighbouring Ekiti State, a 53-year-old man, Agbo Paul Peter, was arrested at Osin Forest, Osin-Ekiti, on Thursday, November 5, with 216 kilogrammes of cannabis and cannabis seeds.

In Edo State, operatives on Friday, November 6, intercepted a Golf saloon car loaded with 19 bags of cannabis weighing 201 kilogrammes along Auchi-Ibillo Road in Akoko Edo Local Government Area.

The driver, Abdulmumid Isah, 39, and a passenger, Danako Godwin, 25, were arrested.

In a related operation, officers raided a notorious drug joint on Ihama Road, GRA, Benin City, where three suspects, Emmanuel Sunday, 25; Samuel Bala, 31; and Loveth Momodu, 20, were arrested with quantities of Colorado, Loud and cannabis.

In Taraba State, operatives on stop-and-search duty at the NDLEA checkpoint in Lankaviri, Yorro Local Government Area, arrested three suspects with a total of 283 blocks of compressed cannabis weighing 226.255 kilogrammes within two days.

On Thursday, November 5, Ibrahim Abdullahi, 45, was arrested with 156 blocks weighing 149.275 kilogrammes, while Kabiru Usman, 25, was apprehended the same day with 80 blocks weighing 40.07 kilogrammes.

On Friday, November 6, another suspect, Babangida Babayo, 32, was arrested with 47 blocks weighing 36.91 kilogrammes.

In Enugu State, a 57-year-old man, Celestine Uzochukwu Ejiakor, was arrested on Tuesday, November 3, at a checkpoint in Eke Obinagu with 44 blocks of cannabis weighing 22.5 kilogrammes.

At another interception at the Ugwuoba checkpoint, operatives arrested Godwin Shaapera, 40, with 24,000 capsules of Tramadol weighing 13.4 kilogrammes and 697 grammes of ketamine.

In Delta State, a 30-year-old suspect, Edugua Othuke, was arrested at Ozoro, Isoko North Local Government Area, on Saturday, October 31, with 10.54 kilogrammes of skunk, 9.4 kilogrammes of cannabis seeds and 4.3 grammes of methamphetamine.

Another suspect, Akpofure Tobore, 34, was arrested on Wednesday, November 4, at Upper Agbarho, Ughelli, with quantities of skunk, tramadol, rohypnol and laughing gas.

Meanwhile, the agency said its commands and formations across the country sustained public sensitisation activities under its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) campaign during the past week.

The activities, which targeted schools, religious centres, workplaces and communities, included enlightenment lectures for students and staff of St. Andrew Basic School, Oyo town, Oyo State; Government Technical College, Abakaliki, Ebonyi State; Sa’ad College, Kano; and Inland Girls Secondary School, Onitsha, Anambra State.

The Zone 1 Command of the agency also paid a WADA advocacy visit to the Emir of Bauchi, HRH Alhaji Rilwanu Sulaiman Adamu, at his palace in Bauchi.

Commending officers and men of the MMIA, Lagos, Ondo, Ekiti, Edo, Delta, Taraba and Enugu commands for the arrests and seizures, NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), described the case of the Ugandan woman as a sad reminder of the methods drug cartels employ to recruit couriers.

Marwa said the development showed that drug trafficking networks would stop at nothing, including exploiting faith and religious travel, to recruit unsuspecting individuals for their illicit operations.

He urged officers across the agency’s commands to sustain the momentum of their efforts in both drug supply reduction and demand reduction.