NDLEA nabs 67-year-old UK-based woman with cocaine disguised as plantain peels

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intensified its nationwide offensive against drug trafficking, arresting a 67-year-old Nigerian-British woman at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport with 13 kilograms of cocaine concealed in fake plantain peels, while also dismantling an international drug trafficking syndicate allegedly led by a Nigerian PhD student studying in Malaysia.

The agency disclosed the operations in a statement issued on Sunday by its Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi.

According to the statement, the suspect, Mrs. Mary Yetunde Barek, a 67-year-old caregiver based in the United Kingdom, was arrested at the departure hall of Terminal 2 of the Lagos airport on Sunday, June 28, while preparing to board a Virgin Atlantic flight to London.

NDLEA operatives, acting on intelligence, subjected her luggage to a thorough search and discovered 31 large wraps of cocaine ingeniously moulded to resemble fresh plantain peels and packed alongside food items in an apparent attempt to evade airport security screening.

The illicit consignment weighed a total of 13 kilograms.

During interrogation, the suspect reportedly admitted ownership of the drugs, providing investigators with useful information as the agency continues efforts to unravel the wider network behind the smuggling attempt.

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In a separate operation, the NDLEA said it dismantled an international drug trafficking syndicate following the arrest of 45-year-old Nwabueze Felix Onyeka, a PhD student at the University of Putra Malaysia, who is alleged to have masterminded the attempted export of 5.8 kilograms of cocaine concealed inside specially modified cartons of Orijin Bitters bound for Kuala Lumpur.

Babafemi explained that Onyeka was apprehended during a sting operation in Ekwusigo Local Government Area of Anambra State on June 29 after investigators traced the shipment to its source.

The arrest followed earlier operations in Lagos, where four suspects linked to the attempted shipment were apprehended. They include cargo agent Alalade Taiwo Azeez, driver Ndem Ogbonna Kelechi, trader Okeke Tochukwu Chimezie and Igwilo Chidi Henry, who allegedly supplied the specially fabricated cartons used to conceal the cocaine.

Investigators subsequently tracked the operation to Aziora in Ozubulu, Anambra State, where Onyeka was arrested as the alleged kingpin of the trafficking network.

The anti-narcotics agency also recorded another breakthrough in Taraba State, where operatives intercepted a commercial vehicle transporting thousands of capsules of Tramadol concealed in specially modified fuel tanks.

The suspect, 30-year-old Daniel Harrison Ugwuoke, was arrested along the Wukari–Zaki Biam Road while allegedly conveying the drugs from Onitsha, Anambra State.

According to the NDLEA, officers recovered 43,980 capsules of Tramadol hidden inside two altered fuel tanks built into the vehicle.

The agency also announced a series of successful anti-drug operations across several states.

In Kaduna State, operatives arrested 65-year-old Boniface Agu and 50-year-old Monday Nwaeze during a raid in Gwantu, recovering 1.7 kilograms of methamphetamine from the suspects.

In Ebonyi State, 65-year-old Francis Ifara Eja was arrested in Ikwo with 231.7 kilograms of skunk, while in Plateau State, a 75-year-old suspect identified as Alhaji Babani was apprehended at Kurgwi in Qua’an Pan Local Government Area with 15 kilograms of the same illicit substance.

Similarly, in Gombe State, NDLEA operatives arrested Dahiru Mohammed, 65, and Isiya Lawan, 36, at Kuri village in Yamaltu-Deba Local Government Area, where they recovered 587 blocks of cannabis sativa weighing approximately 556 kilograms.

Reacting to the successful operations, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA, Mohamed Buba Marwa, commended officers attached to the MMIA, Taraba, Kaduna, Ebonyi, Plateau and Gombe Commands for their professionalism and commitment.

Marwa praised the operatives for disrupting drug trafficking networks across the country while simultaneously sustaining the agency’s drug abuse prevention and public awareness campaigns.

He urged personnel nationwide to maintain the momentum by intensifying intelligence-led operations and raising operational standards in the agency’s ongoing fight against illicit drug trafficking and abuse.

The latest arrests underscore the NDLEA’s sustained efforts to dismantle local and international drug trafficking networks, strengthen border security and curb the movement of narcotics through Nigeria’s airports, highways and communities.