By Ikugbadi Oluwasegun
Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a 25-year-old newlywed businessman, Lovely Chukwulobelu, at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport (AIIA), Enugu, for attempting to traffic 72 wraps of cocaine to Portugal.
He was intercepted at the departure hall on Thursday, 25th September 2026, while attempting to board an Ethiopian Airlines flight to Portugal via Addis Ababa — with cocaine in his gut and a wedding ring on his finger. He was placed under excretion observation, during which he egested all 72 wraps of the Class A drug.
The suspect, who claimed he was into car decoration business at Trade Fair Complex, Ojo, Lagos before relocating to Portugal in May 2023, said he returned to Nigeria recently and got married on 13th September 2026. He told investigators he resorted to drug trafficking to offset wedding expenses.
In a separate operation, at the import shed of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos, NDLEA operatives on Tuesday, 22nd September 2026 uncovered one of the year’s biggest opioid hauls during a joint examination of three monitored consignments.
The seizure included 2,550,000 pills of Tramaking 225mg, Tramaking 250mg, and Royal Tapentadol 250mg, weighing 1,640.55kg. The consignments were imported from India and Bangladesh via Qatar Airways, RwandAir, and Ethiopian Airlines.
