In a shocking twist that has stunned airport officials, operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, have arrested a 25-year-old newlywed businessman who attempted to smuggle 72 wraps of cocaine to Portugal inside his stomach.
The suspect, Lovely Chukwulobelu, was intercepted at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, AIIA, Enugu on Thursday, September 25, 2026, while trying to board an Ethiopian Airlines flight to Portugal via Addis Ababa.
According to a statement signed by the Director of Media and Advocacy, NDLEA Headquarters Abuja, Femi Babafemi, and made available to News Century TV on Sunday, the groom had a wedding ring on his finger and cocaine in his gut.
He was placed under excretion observation at the airport facility, where he eventually egested a total of 72 wraps of the Class A illicit substance.
Groom Says He Trafficked Drugs To Offset Wedding Bills
During preliminary interrogation, Chukwulobelu claimed he was into car decoration business at the Trade Fair Complex, Ojo area of Lagos, before he relocated to Portugal in May 2023.
He told NDLEA investigators that he returned to Nigeria recently to get married on September 13, 2026, and resorted to the criminal trade to offset expenses incurred during his elaborate wedding ceremony.
The NDLEA said the suspect will be charged to court upon conclusion of investigation.
NDLEA Intercepts Over N3 Billion Worth Of Opioids At Lagos Airport
In a separate major operation, NDLEA operatives uncovered one of the biggest opioid hauls of the year at the import shed of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, MMIA, Ikeja, Lagos.
The operation, which was carried out on Tuesday, September 22, 2026, during a joint examination of three monitored consignments, led to the seizure of Two Million Five Hundred and Fifty-Five Thousand (2,555,000) pills of Tramaking 225mg, Tramaking 250mg, and Royal Tapentadol 250mg.
The seized opioids have a combined gross weight of 1,640.55 kilograms and street value estimated at over N3 billion.
NDLEA revealed that the consignments were imported from India and Bangladesh via Qatar Airways, RwandAir, and Ethiopian Airlines and were cleverly concealed.
Nationwide Raids: Togolese Traffickers, Cannabis Farms Destroyed, 420 Cartons Of Laughing Gas Seized
The anti-narcotic agency also recorded massive successes across Lagos, Oyo, Edo, Bauchi, and Seme border in Badagry.
In Bauchi State, operatives arrested two suspects, Umar Hamidu, 35, and Abdulkarim Salihu, 45, along the Maiduguri bypass with 300 compressed blocks of skunk, a strain of cannabis weighing 262.5kg. The illicit substance was concealed in the false bottom of a truck marked MUB757 YH.
In Edo State, two cannabis farms with a combined estimated yield of 1,360.23kg at Eko Camp, Ilushi, were destroyed by NDLEA officers supported by soldiers on Wednesday, September 23.
In Lagos State, two female suspects, Odumabo Kehinde, 36, and Obiekwe Chioma, 40, were arrested on Saturday, September 26, when NDLEA operatives raided Anifowoshe Street in Mushin where they recovered 3.4kg of skunk.
On the same day in Lagos, a 58-year-old man, Ugwu Johnson, was intercepted at Ebute-Ero motor park with large quantities of illicit consignments, including 5.920kg skunk, 2,400 ampoules of pentazocine injection, 8,400 tablets of nitrazepam, and 40,000 pills of tramadol.
In Oyo State, two Togolese nationals, Yinusa Abdulsamad, 35, and Fatai Baba, 33, were nabbed on Saturday, September 26, at Iganna-Ilero road, Iganna, with 305.6kg of skunk concealed in two pick-up vans. NDLEA said the vans were used for cross-border trafficking racket, moving Ghanaian-sourced cannabis into Nigeria through the Oyo axis.
At the Seme border, Badagry, Lagos, five suspects were arrested with 420 cartons of nitrous oxide, popularly called laughing gas, weighing 1,688.4kg, along with two vehicles used in conveying the exhibit from the border into Lagos. The suspects are Kingsley John, 40; John Chibuike Okeke, 44; Lamidi Ismaila, 40; Babatunde Samuel, 42; and Afeesu Idowu, 47.
WADA Sensitization Continues Nationwide
Meanwhile, the Agency said its Commands and formations across the country continued their War Against Drug Abuse, WADA, sensitization activities to schools, worship centres, work places and communities in the past week.
The sensitization lectures were held at Community High School, Saki, Oyo state; Auchi College, Auchi, Edo; Alkali Modibbo Islamic Centre, Dukku, Gombe; and Junior Arabic Secondary School, Kahu, Kibiya LGA, Kano.
The Delta Ports Command of NDLEA also paid a WADA advocacy visit to His Royal Majesty, Ogiame Atuwatshe III, the Olu of Warri, Delta State.
Commending the officers and men of MMIA, AIIA, Lagos, Oyo, Edo, Seme, and Bauchi Commands for the various successful operations, Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd), enjoined them and their colleagues across the country to continue with the ongoing balanced approach to the drug control efforts of the Agency.
