In a statement on Sunday, Femi Babafemi, NDLEA spokesperson,
said the 52-year-old businessman was arrested at the Mallam Aminu Kano
International Airport.

He said Emeka, who operates boutiques in Lagos and Onitsha
in Anambra state, was intercepted upon arrival from Bangkok, Thailand, via
Ethiopian Airlines flight ET941 on October 8, following credible intelligence.

“He was taken for body scan which confirmed he ingested
illicit drugs and had some concealed in his private part,” Babafemi said.

“A total of 58 wraps of cocaine were immediately recovered
from his pant after which he was taken for excretion observation during which
he excreted 69 pellets of cocaine in seven excretions bringing the total number
of wraps of the class A drug recovered from him to 127 weighing 1.388
kilograms.”

Operatives of the agency intercepted three drug consignments
at a courier company in Lagos, heading to the United Kingdom on October 9 and
10.

Babafemi said one shipment contained 1.74 kilograms of
methamphetamine concealed in blocks of glass ceramics, while another held 114
grams and 168 grams of pentazocine and tramadol injections, respectively.

He said the third consignment contained 48 grams of tramadol
capsules hidden in Vitamin C containers.

The agency also thwarted attempts by criminal syndicates to
ship 2.6 kilograms of skunk and 422 grams of tapentadol concealed in black soap
tablets to Turkey.

Babafemi said 169 grams of cocaine were hidden in handbags
to Australia, and 568 grams of “loud”, a potent strain of cannabis, were
concealed in herbal containers to the United Arab Emirates.

Babafemi said at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport
(MMIA), Ikeja, officers intercepted 27,510 pills of rohypnol concealed in
sachets of alcoholic drinks bound for South Africa.

Following the initial arrest of a freight agent and a cab
driver linked to the consignment, a follow-up operation led to the arrest of
the alleged mastermind, 46-year-old Samuel Omoruyi, popularly known as Yellow,
at Oyingbo market in Lagos on October 2.

He said on the same day, Enehizena Uyimwen, an Italy-based
businessman, was apprehended while attempting to export 3,700 pills of tramadol
225mg and 2,600 tablets of tapentadol 200mg concealed in food items to Italy.

Uyimwen reportedly said he was trafficking the drugs for
another person for a fee of €945.

OTHER ARRESTS

Babafemi said NDLEA operatives made several arrests and
seizures across Edo, Osun, Rivers, Katsina, and Ondo states.

He said the home of Emmanuel Sunday, a suspect in Ugbekpe
Ekperi, Etsako central LGA in Edo, was raided and 47 kilograms of skunk were
recovered.

“Two suspects: Nureni Ayobami Eleweodo, 48, and Oladejo
Taiwo, 52, were on Wednesday 8th October arrested at Omifufun village, Ife
South LGA, Osun state following the seizure of 635 kilograms of skunk from
their Toyota Hiace bus marked DDA65ZY,” Babafemi said.

“Two other suspects: Timothy Omiwole, 41, and Isaac
Achiatan, 36, were nabbed at same location with 100kg skunk recovered from them
along with their motorcycle.”

In Rivers, two suspects — Okoro Julius and Onyebuchi Nwibo —
were arrested in different parts of Port Harcourt after 8.5 kilograms of skunk
were seized.

In Katsina, operatives nabbed Sulaiman Kalalu after 29.5
kilograms of the same substance were found in his house at Bayan Asiti, Jibia
town.

In Niger state, officers arrested 29-year-old Yisa Daniel at
New Bussa, where they recovered 22,000 tramadol capsules, 800 ampoules of
pentazocine injection, and 150,000 pills of exol-5.

He said a separate operation in Ondo state led to the
recovery of 312 kilograms of skunk from a bush at Ologede camp, Ogbese, while
two suspects were intercepted along the Benin-Lagos expressway with 141.8
kilograms of skunk in their vehicle.

In Kaduna, another suspect, Rufai Ahmed, popularly known as
Farin Malam, was arrested at the Abuja–Kaduna toll gate with 150,000 pills of
exol-5 being transported from Lagos to Katsina.

Babafemi noted that NDLEA commands across the country
continued their War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation campaign with
lectures held in schools, worship centres, workplaces, and communities.

He said the outreach is aimed at deepening awareness about
the dangers of drug abuse among young people.