NDLEA Intercepts China-Bound Businesswoman With 7.5kg Cocaine

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) says it has arrested a 38-year-old businesswoman, Iwebema Ogechi Peace, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, after she was allegedly caught with 7.5 kilograms of cocaine concealed in a false compartment of her luggage while attempting to board a Qatar Airways flight to Beijing, China.

According to a statement by NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi, the suspect, who claims she travels to China to purchase goods for resale in Nigeria, was arrested on Sunday, June 21, 2026, at the departure hall of Terminal 2 following credible intelligence.

The agency said a search of her checked-in luggage revealed four parcels of cocaine carefully hidden in a professionally created false bottom of her bag.

In a separate operation, NDLEA operatives, working with other security agencies, also intercepted a 40-foot container at the Apapa Port, Lagos, containing 195 sacks of “Canadian Loud,” a potent strain of cannabis, weighing 4,959 kilograms and valued at about N12.3 billion.

The agency said the container had been under surveillance since April 25, 2026, tracking its movement from Canada through multiple transit points before arriving in Lagos.

NDLEA said the seizure is part of a broader crackdown on transnational drug trafficking networks operating through Nigerian ports.

In another operation, NDLEA officers uncovered what it described as a syndicate that plants drugs in passengers’ luggage at motor parks, following the interception of methamphetamine concealed in a Sienna bus from Nnewi, Anambra State, in Abaji, FCT.

The agency said follow-up arrests led to the detention of several suspects, including alleged loaders, a driver, and the claimed recipient of the consignment.

Across Lagos, FCT, Anambra, and other states, NDLEA operatives also arrested multiple suspects and recovered large quantities of illicit drugs, including tramadol and cannabis hidden in trucks and residential buildings.

NDLEA Chairman, Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), commended officers involved in the operations, saying the agency will sustain its “war against drug trafficking and abuse” alongside nationwide sensitisation campaigns.