The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, has arrested a 42-year-old Angolan businessman, Mbala Dajou Abuba, at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport (MAKIA), Kano, for attempting to traffic a large consignment of cocaine, which he ingested, to Istanbul, Turkey.
The Agency’s spokesman, Femi Babafemi, said on Sunday that Mr Abuba, who is from the Zaire province in Angola, was arrested on Tuesday, February 25, 2025, at the screening point of the Kano airport while trying to board Egypt Air flight MS 880 to Istanbul, Turkey, via Cairo.
After his body scan result confirmed he had ingested an illicit drug, he was thereafter placed under excretion observation, during which he expelled 120 pellets of cocaine weighing 1.829 kilograms in seven excretions.
In his statement, the suspect claimed he was in the business of township delivery services in Angola before delving into the illicit drug trade.
“A similar attempt by an auto spare parts dealer, Okeke Ebuka Igwe, to send two parcels of 1.10kg cocaine concealed in vehicle propellers to Angola through the export shed of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, MMIA, Ikeja Lagos, was thwarted by NDLEA operatives who arrested him on Monday, February 24 following credible intelligence.
“During an interview with the suspect, he claimed that he is a businessman selling auto parts in ASPANDA, Trade Fair Complex, Ojo area of Lagos.
“The bid by another suspect, Ezechi Iyke Cyprian, to move a large consignment of cocaine weighing 5.40 kilograms to Owerri, Imo state in his Toyota Sienna bus on Sunday, February 23, was frustrated by operatives of a special operations unit of NDLEA who arrested him following weeks of intelligence and surveillance.
“At the Tincan seaport in Lagos, NDLEA operatives on Friday, February 28, discovered a total of 128 parcels of Canadian Loud, a strong strain of cannabis concealed in two mattresses in the trunk of a Toyota Venza car imported from Canada.
“The discovery of the 63.75kg consignment was made during a joint examination of a targeted container marked TCNU 1945861 from Montreal, Canada, by NDLEA, Customs and other security agencies.
“The consignee of the shipment, 44-year-old Bamidele Joseph, has been arrested and taken into custody.
