NDLEA intercepts woman with heroin disguised as chocolates at Kano Airport

In a significant drug bust, operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have intercepted a 42-year-old Indian woman, Ms. Neetu Neetu, at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport (MAKIA) with 72 parcels of heroin cleverly concealed in wafer wraps and packaged to resemble chocolates.

The NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, disclosed the development in a statement released over the weekend.

He revealed that the illicit consignment, classified as a Class A drug, weighed a total of 11 kilograms and was recovered from the suspect’s luggage following a thorough search.

This operation was carried out based on credible intelligence during an inward clearance of Qatar Airways flight QR1431, which had arrived at the Kano airport on Friday, March 14, 2025, from Bangkok, Thailand, via Vietnam and Doha.

Babafemi noted that Neetu’s arrest highlights a growing trend of drug trafficking organizations attempting to use white women and foreign nationals as couriers to smuggle illicit drugs into Nigeria.

Reacting to the arrest, NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), commended the vigilance of the agency’s operatives, emphasizing that their proactive intelligence efforts and modern technological tools continue to frustrate the activities of drug traffickers at Nigerian borders.

The NDLEA’s success in tackling drug trafficking extended beyond Kano, as further interdiction operations led to multiple arrests and seizures across the country.

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In another operation in Kano, NDLEA officers on Thursday, March 20, apprehended a 45-year-old suspect, Michael Ogundele, at Gadar Tamburawa along the Zaria-Kano road. Acting on credible intelligence, operatives discovered a 50-litre steel gas cylinder in his possession. Upon cutting open the cylinder using welding tools, they uncovered 50,000 pills of Tramadol 225mg hidden inside.

Similarly, on Wednesday, March 19, operatives arrested a 40-year-old suspect, Sunday Ogar, in the Gunduwawa area of Kano with 27 kilograms of skunk, a potent strain of cannabis. A female suspect, Khadijah Abdullahi, 40, was also apprehended on Tuesday, March 18, at Lungun Bulala Yalwa with 424 bottles of codeine-based syrup.

In Lagos, the NDLEA recorded further successes in its anti-drug operations. Two suspects, Olumuyiwa Kolawole and Samod Adisa, were caught with 67.5 kilograms of skunk in the Mushin area.

Additionally, 100.8 kilograms of the same psychoactive substance were recovered from a store belonging to two fleeing suspects in Anifowoshe, Mushin.

Further operations led to the arrest of Isah Idris in Apapa on Tuesday, March 18, with 4.5 kilograms of skunk, 600 grams of Tramadol 225mg, and 30 liters of codeine syrup.

On the same day, Yahaya Mohamed was apprehended in Ikotun with varying quantities of cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine.

The NDLEA has reiterated its commitment to combating drug trafficking in Nigeria and ensuring that drug syndicates face the full force of the law.

With the continued use of intelligence-based operations and advanced detection technology, the agency has reaffirmed its resolve to disrupt the supply chains of illicit substances within and beyond the country’s borders.