By The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a Brazil-based Nigerian businessman, Abugu Oliver Ikechukwu, alongside two persons with disabilities and several other suspects in separate operations targeting illicit drug trafficking across the country.
The arrests were disclosed in a statement issued on Sunday, June 14, 2026, by the agency’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi.
According to the statement, Abugu, 41, was arrested on Thursday, June 11, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos, while allegedly attempting to smuggle 6.10 kilograms of liquid cocaine concealed in shirts and towels from Brazil into Nigeria.
The agency said the suspect arrived from Brazil aboard an Ethiopian Airlines flight from Addis Ababa. “A thorough search of his luggage led to the recovery of 14 towels and shirts, all soaked in liquid cocaine, dried and carefully ironed,” the statement said
In a related development, the NDLEA said a 60-year-old woman, Chidimma Sunday, and a 28-year-old man, Abubakar Usman, both persons with disabilities (PWDs), were arrested in separate operations in Abia and Rivers states over “alleged involvement in illicit drug trafficking.”
According to the agency, Chidimma, a resident of Umuna Autonomous Community in Isialangwa North Local Government Area of Abia State, was apprehended by members of the Umuosu Vigilante Group with 1.8 kilograms of skunk. She was subsequently handed over to NDLEA operatives in the state on Wednesday, June 10.
Similarly, Abubakar was arrested on Tuesday, June 9, by NDLEA officers at Rumuokoro, Port Harcourt, Rivers State. The agency said substances recovered from him included 400 grams of skunk, five grams of methamphetamine, 100 grams of tramadol, five grams of swinol, and 18 grams of diazepam.
The agency also disclosed that operatives in Delta State arrested a 36-year-old suspect, Onya Jude, at Ogwashi-Uku in Aniocha South Local Government Area on Monday, June 8. He was reportedly found in possession of five gas cylinders used to conceal 2.8 kilograms of Loud, a potent strain of cannabis.
According to the statement, the operation was followed by the arrest of two suspected drug dealers, Jamilu Idris, popularly known as “Jama”, and Aminu Abdullahi, also known as “Momo”, in the Kasuwan Katako area of Gombe State.
“They were caught with three large blocks of skunk weighing 2.738 kilograms at the time of their arrest by NDLEA operatives,” the agency stated.
In the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), operatives on patrol along the Gwagwalada Expressway arrested a 46-year-old suspect, Emmanuel Nnadi, on Saturday, June 13.
The NDLEA said items recovered from him included 30,400 pills of tramadol in 225mg and 100mg strengths, 750 capsules of pregabalin 300mg, 200 pills of Molly, and 592 bottles of codeine-based cough syrup.
The arrests form part of the ongoing nationwide operations aimed at disrupting drug trafficking networks and reducing the circulation of illicit substances across the Nigeria.
