NDLEA nabs Italy-based man with ‘98 wraps of cocaine’ in Enugu

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a 30-year-old Italy-based businessman, Joseph Cyril, for allegedly ingesting 98 wraps of cocaine weighing 1.51 kilograms at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu.

Cyril was apprehended on August 2 during outward clearance for passengers boarding an Ethiopian Airlines flight bound for Italy via Addis Ababa and France.

Femi Babafemi, spokesperson of the NDLEA, disclosed the development in a statement issued on Sunday, noting that the suspect was placed under excretion observation shortly after his arrest, during which he expelled the illicit substances.

“Investigations revealed that Cyril had arrived Nigeria from Italy on 13th July 2026 and ingested the drug in a hotel in Awka, Anambra State before proceeding to Enugu to board his flight to Europe on Sunday 2nd August,” the statement reads.

“In his statement, he claimed he has been doing business in Italy for years before agreeing to traffic the drug consignment for a fee of 3,500 Euros in order to raise money to relocate to Germany where his family is based.”

In a related development, the agency said its operatives thwarted attempts to smuggle 1.2kg of cocaine concealed in 25 phone chargers to Saudi Arabia through a Lagos-based courier firm.

It added that another consignment of 500 grams of cocaine, hidden in the false bottom of a backpack and destined for Italy, was intercepted at a logistics company on August 3.

“A consignment of 2.3kg Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis, coming from the United States was intercepted in another shipping company in Lagos on Tuesday 4th August,” the statement added.

The agency further disclosed that its officers intercepted a truck conveying 1,633kg of skunk along the Akure-Ilesha expressway on August 4, concealed in bags of rice chaff. Two suspects, Buba Jamilu and Sanusi Ibrahim, were arrested in connection with the seizure.

Similarly, operatives recovered 147kg of skunk from Ita Ogbolu forest during a raid carried out on August 3.

In Oyo State, NDLEA officers raided a drug warehouse in Elebure village, Orire LGA, on August 3, where 731.03kg of cannabis was recovered and a 57-year-old suspect, Felicia Thompson, arrested. Her alleged accomplice, Thompson Vincent Nwaka, remains at large.

Babafemi also revealed that a wanted drug dealer, Adome Claude Sikuru, was arrested at the Fibre Market drug area in Badagry, Lagos, on August 8 following a three-month manhunt. A total of 88.5kg of skunk was recovered from him.

“A total of 73 cartons containing 442 packets of cookies and gummies infused with cannabis weighing 309.4kg were discovered during a joint examination of a 40ft container by NDLEA officers, Customs and other security agencies on Tuesday 4th August at the Tincan port complex Lagos. A suspect, Larry Naji, has already been arrested in connection with the seizure,” the statement reads.

Babafemi noted that the agency has continued its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation campaigns across schools, worship centres, workplaces and communities nationwide.

He added that the NDLEA chairman, Mohamed Buba Marwa, commended officers across various commands, including DOGI, airport, Ondo, Oyo, Edo, Abia, Seme and TinCan, for their efforts, urging them to sustain the agency’s balanced approach to drug control.