Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a 74-year-old man, Ikwuakalom Nwakoro Emeka, at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja after discovering a large consignment of cocaine concealed in his luggage.
The septuagenarian, who claimed he was travelling to London in the United Kingdom for vacation, was apprehended at the airport’s departure hall while attempting to board a British Airways flight BA082 to Heathrow on Saturday, March 14, 2026.
NDLEA officers who searched his luggage discovered blocks of cocaine weighing about 11 kilograms hidden inside food items, including ground dry pepper, carefully wrapped in foil papers and balloons.
In a separate operation in Lagos, NDLEA operatives acting on credible intelligence arrested a woman, Maryam Olalowo, in the early hours of Monday, March 9, at Ikad Hotel and Suites on Etim Inyang Street, Victoria Island. She was allegedly attempting to sell 89 grams of cocaine and 20 grams of Canadian Loud, a strain of cannabis.
Maryam was found with her three children, including an infant, at the time of the arrest. She later confessed that the illicit drugs belonged to her husband, Ibrahim Olalowo Olatunji. He was subsequently arrested the same day while his wife was immediately released.
During interrogation, Ibrahim admitted ownership of the drugs. Further investigation revealed that he had previously been arrested, convicted, and sentenced to two and a half years imprisonment in 2015 for a similar offence.
In another operation at Ebetu Ero on Lagos Island, NDLEA operatives arrested two suspects, Kalilou Simpara and Saidu Ibrahim, with 68,000 pills of tramadol (250mg and 225mg). The suspects had loaded the drugs into a truck and were preparing to transport them to the Benin Republic when they were apprehended on Monday, March 9.
Another raid at the same market on Friday, March 13, resulted in the arrest of Nwanosike Kelvin, with 47,500 ampoules of pentazocine injection recovered from his shop.
The agency said the arrests form part of its ongoing nationwide crackdown on illicit drug trafficking and distribution.
