Enugu Airport Sees Businessman Caught with Nearly 100 Packs of Cocaine by Anti-Narcotics Agents

A 30-year-old Italy-based businessman, Joseph Cyril, was apprehended by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency after being found with 98 wraps of cocaine weighing 1.510 kilogrammes at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu, as he attempted to travel to Europe.

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The arrest took place on Sunday, August 2, 2026, at the departure hall of the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu, during the outward clearance of passengers on an Ethiopian Airlines flight, ET930.

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A statement issued by the NDLEA Director, Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, on Sunday revealed that Cyril was placed under excretion observation, resulting in the expulsion of the 98 wraps of cocaine.

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Investigations by the agency showed that Cyril arrived in Nigeria from Italy on July 13 and ingested the cocaine at a hotel in Awka, Anambra State, before heading to Enugu to board his flight to Europe.

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According to the statement, Cyril had been doing business in Italy for years before agreeing to traffic the drug consignment for a fee of 3,500 Euros to raise money to relocate to Germany, where his family is based.

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The NDLEA also intercepted cocaine concealed in phone chargers and a backpack in separate attempts to smuggle the illicit drug to Saudi Arabia and Europe, with 1.2kg of cocaine found in 25 phone chargers destined for Saudi Arabia.

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Officers thwarted an attempt to export 500 grammes of cocaine to Italy after the drug was concealed in the false bottom of a backpack at a logistics company on Monday, August 3.

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A consignment of 2.3kg of Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis, imported from the United States, was intercepted at a shipping company in Lagos on Tuesday, August 4.

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NDLEA officers on patrol along the Akure-Ilesha Expressway intercepted a truck conveying 1,633kg of skunk concealed in bags of rice shafts, and two suspects, Buba Jamilu, 40, and Sanusi Ibrahim, 30, were arrested in connection with the consignment.

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A raid on Monday, August 3, resulted in the recovery of 147kg of skunk from the Ita Ogbolu forest.

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In Oyo State, operatives recovered 731.03kg of cannabis and arrested a 57-year-old suspect, Felicia Thompson, during a raid on a drug warehouse at Elebure village in Orire Local Government Area on August 3.

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NDLEA operatives, supported by soldiers, recovered 65 jumbo bags of skunk weighing 604.5kg at Ewe Luleha in Owan West Local Government Area of Edo State on Wednesday, August 5.

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A suspected drug joint operator, Chibuike Charles, 31, was arrested during a raid at Samec by Powerline Base in Osisioma Local Government Area on Thursday, August 6, and seven kilogrammes of skunk were recovered from the suspect.

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A wanted drug dealer, Adome Claude Sikuru, was arrested at the Fibre Market drug jungle in Badagry, Lagos, on Saturday, August 8, after a three-month manhunt, and 88.5kg of skunk was recovered from him.

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At the Tincan Port Complex, Lagos, NDLEA officers intercepted 73 cartons containing 442 packets of cannabis-infused cookies and gummies weighing 309.4kg during the joint examination of a 40-foot container on Tuesday, August 4.

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NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa, commended officers and men of the agency for the operations and urged personnel across the country to sustain the agency's balanced approach to drug control.

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The agency continued its War Against Drug Abuse sensitisation campaigns in schools, worship centres, workplaces, and communities across the country during the week under review.