Odita Sunday 
Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a 62-year-old Lagos-based businessman, Nwabueze Nicholas Izueke, at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport (MAKIA), Kano, for attempting to smuggle cocaine to China.
In a statement signed by the agency’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, on Sunday, disclosed that
Izueke was arrested on January 31, 2026, during the outward clearance of passengers on Ethiopian Airlines flight ET940 to China via Addis Ababa.
”A body scan conducted on him tested positive for illicit drug ingestion, after which he was placed under medical observation.
”The suspect later expelled 95 jumbo-sized wraps of cocaine weighing 1.589 kilogrammes in seven excretions,”Babafemi stated.
According to him, Izueke, in his statement, claimed he ventured into drug trafficking to raise funds to complete a house he was building in his hometown, Iwollo, in Enugu State.
”In separate operations, NDLEA operatives recovered 627.7 kilogrammes of skunk from a warehouse in Kubwa, Abuja, and intercepted consignments of methamphetamine concealed in MP3 speakers en route from Enugu to Abuja and Kaduna.
”The agency also arrested suspects in Taraba, Oyo, Kwara, Imo, Ondo, Lagos, and Enugu states in coordinated anti-drug operations.
”In Ibadan, a suspected drug kingpin, Jimoh Nurudeen, was arrested alongside an accomplice, with the recovery of synthetic cannabis production materials, cash, and vehicles,” he stated.
Commenting on the operations, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig.-Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), commended the officers for their professionalism and urged them to sustain the tempo.
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