The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a Brazil-based Nigerian businessman, Uche Franklin Onyekwere, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos, for attempting to smuggle cocaine into the country by concealing the drug in his private parts and the soles of his footwear.
Onyekwere, 47, was apprehended on Thursday, January 29, 2026, during the inward clearance of passengers on a South African Airways flight arriving from Brazil via Johannesburg. His arrest followed processed intelligence, which prompted NDLEA operatives to subject him to a full body scan. The scan confirmed the presence of illicit substances.
A subsequent strip search led to the discovery of a large parcel of a white powdery substance wrapped around his right thigh, as well as two additional wraps concealed in the soles of a pair of flat shoes he was wearing. The substance later tested positive for cocaine. In total, three wraps of cocaine weighing 1.60 kilograms were recovered.
During preliminary interrogation, Onyekwere disclosed that he bought the cocaine in Brazil with the intention of reselling it in Nigeria to raise capital for his business and to finance the naming ceremony of his newborn child. He claimed to have lived in São Paulo, Brazil, since 2008 and operated a toy business for about nine years.
Commending the officers for their professionalism and successes, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), urged them to sustain the agency’s balanced approach to drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction across the country.
