Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a Brazil-based Nigerian businessman, Uche Franklin Onyekwere, at Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, for concealing cocaine on his body and inside his footwear. The 47-year-old suspect was intercepted on Thursday, January 29, 2026, after arriving on a South African Airways flight from Brazil via Johannesburg, following actionable intelligence.
A full-body scan revealed illicit drugs, and a subsequent strip search uncovered three wraps of cocaine weighing 1.60 kilograms. During preliminary questioning, Onyekwere reportedly admitted purchasing the drugs in Brazil to resell in Nigeria to raise capital for his business and fund his newborn child’s naming ceremony.
In related operations, NDLEA teams across the country made significant seizures of illicit substances. At Tincan Seaport, Lagos, 1,183 kilograms of Canadian Loud cannabis were intercepted in two vehicles. In Niger State, 2,735 kilograms of skunk cannabis and one kilogram of synthetic cannabis were seized, leading to the arrest of three suspects. Edo State operatives raided a cannabis farm in Ilushi, destroying over 4,063 kilograms of skunk and recovering processed cannabis. In Anambra State, 345.2 kilograms of skunk were recovered from a truck at Onitsha, while Ondo State and Kano State also saw arrests and seizures of hundreds of kilograms of cannabis and pharmaceutical drugs.
NDLEA officials emphasized that the operations, conducted with support from other security agencies including the Nigerian Army, target major drug trafficking routes and are part of ongoing efforts to curb the flow of narcotics into and within Nigeria. The agency reaffirmed its commitment to safeguarding public health and national security.
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