Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a 43-year-old woman at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos, for attempting to smuggle cocaine out of the country under the guise of seeking medical treatment.
According to a statement issued on Sunday in Abuja by the NDLEA Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, the suspect, a professional make-up artist, was intercepted as she tried to board a Qatar Airways flight to India, claiming she was traveling for fibroid surgery.
Her arrest, which took place on Monday, June 16, was the result of actionable intelligence. “Under surveillance, Adekoya was allowed to check in her luggage and arrested at the point of boarding her Qatar Airways flight to India via Doha. When her luggage was searched, two large parcels of cocaine weighing 2.20kg were found concealed in the walls of the suitcase she was carrying,” Babafemi stated.
In her confession, the suspect admitted that the trip was motivated by the promise of financial gain. She had posed as a medical tourist to disguise her true intent. Investigations revealed that she was allegedly working for a drug kingpin identified as Akeem Adekanbi, who is currently on the run. Adekanbi reportedly owns Rockford Hotel in the Sango area of Ogun State and resides in the Igbe Laara community of Igbogbo, Ikorodu, Lagos.
In a related operation, NDLEA personnel attached to the Directorate of Operation and General Investigation (DOGI) intercepted an outbound consignment from a courier company in Lagos on Thursday, June 19. The shipment, falsely declared as sewn female clothing, was discovered to contain 1.3 kilograms of Loud — a highly potent strain of cannabis — destined for Bahrain.
Also on Wednesday, June 18, agents at another courier firm in Lagos uncovered 850 grams of cocaine hidden inside clothes hangers, part of a shipment bound for Australia.
Beyond enforcement, the agency’s War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitization campaigns have continued in full force across the nation. NDLEA officers took the message to several educational institutions, including Government Day Arabic Secondary School in Guri, Jigawa; Government College, Lafia, Nasarawa; Atodo Secondary School, Ankpa, Kogi; Natsugunne Junior Secondary School, Jabba, Kano; and Shallom Academy in Ibagwa, Enugu State.
Reacting to the string of arrests and seizures, NDLEA Chairman, retired Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa, lauded the dedication of officers at the MMIA and DOGI units. He also commended other commands nationwide for maintaining a balanced focus on reducing both drug supply and demand.
