NDLEA busts two drug kingpins, seizes 125 wraps of heroin at Lagos, Port Harcourt Airports

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has successfully apprehended two suspected drug barons attempting to smuggle heroin through Nigerian airports.

The arrests, which took place at the Port Harcourt International Airport and Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, resulted in the seizure of a total of 125 wraps of heroin.

Femi Babafemi, spokesperson for the NDLEA, confirmed the arrests in a statement on Sunday, detailing how the suspects, Onyekwonike Elochuckwu Sylvanus and James Herbert Chinoso, swallowed the illicit substances in an effort to evade detection.

However, the operatives of the NDLEA placed them under excretion observation, leading to the recovery of the drugs.

The first suspect, Onyekwonike Elochuckwu Sylvanus, was intercepted at the Port Harcourt airport on Sunday, 2nd February 2025. The 30-year-old had been operating under a dual identity, also using the alias Kargbo Mohamed Foday with a Sierra Leonean passport.

He was caught during the inward clearance of a Qatar Airways flight from Doha via Abuja. A body scan confirmed that he had ingested illicit drugs, leading to his detention under strict observation.

“In five separate excretions, he expelled 62 wraps of heroin, weighing 1.348 kilogrammes,” Babafemi stated.

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Investigations revealed that Sylvanus was a seasoned trafficker who regularly traveled between Thailand, Pakistan, Iran, and West Africa, using his multiple identities to evade law enforcement. He confessed to abandoning his clothing and shoe business in 2017 to engage fully in drug trafficking.

The second major arrest occurred on Saturday, 1st February, when NDLEA operatives at Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, apprehended James Herbert Chinoso, 48, upon his arrival from Madagascar via Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Acting on intelligence, officers subjected him to a body scan, which revealed that he had internally concealed drugs.

“Under strict surveillance, Chinoso excreted 63 wraps of heroin, weighing 909 grams,” Babafemi disclosed.

During interrogation, Chinoso admitted that financial hardship following the collapse of his phone accessories business in Liberia led him into drug trafficking.

In addition to the two high-profile arrests, NDLEA officers carried out a series of other successful operations.

On Thursday, 6th February, the Directorate of Operations and General Investigation (DOGI) intercepted two parcels of Loud, a highly potent synthetic strain of cannabis imported from the United States and destined for Lagos.

The consignment, weighing 2.82 kilogrammes, was seized at a courier firm.

In another operation at a separate logistics company, NDLEA officers intercepted 80 ampoules of pentazocine injection, a controlled opioid, weighing 225 grams. The consignment was concealed in cartons bound for Canada.

These latest seizures and arrests underscore NDLEA’s commitment to combating drug trafficking and dismantling international drug smuggling networks.

The agency has vowed to continue its relentless pursuit of traffickers, ensuring that Nigeria remains a hostile environment for illicit drug activities.