.NDLEA Arrests Kingpins –

A 55-year-old businessman, Onuigbo Ndubisi Chinedu who deals in clothing at the popular Balogun market, Lagos Island, has been arrested by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) over attempt to export 3.30 kilograms of cocaine concealed in walls of cartons used to package foodstuffs going to the United kingdom.

Onuigbo was arrested on Thursday 23rd July 2026 following the interception of his cocaine consignment at the export shed of the Lagos airport the previous day, Wednesday 22nd July by NDLEA operatives.

In the course of investigation, three cargo agents: Nkwor Onyekachukwu Justina; Adeleke Abiola Taoheed; and Ukanwa Grace Pilgrim, who handled the shipment were initially arrested leading to the arrest Kenneth Okakpu who delivered the consignment to the cargo agents for shipment to the UK.

Okakpu’s arrest provided the lead to identifying Onuigbo as the kingpin behind the syndicate and his eventual arrest while attempting to send another consignment of cocaine to the UK.

A 31-year-old entrepreneur Emmanuella Chukwu-Edo also involved in illicit drug trafficking was on Tuesday 21st July arrested at her Surulere, Lagos residence by NDLEA operatives following the seizure of her consignment of 2.80kg Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis, which arrived from the United States aboard a United Airlines flight on Monday 20th July.

In another interdiction operation at the Lagos airport, a total of Two Million Two Hundred and Forty (2,240,000,000) pills of Tapentadol 250mg worth over N2.2 billion in street value were recovered from a shipment from India aboard an Air Maroc flight during a joint examination of the cargo on Friday 24th July.

The exercise was based on an intelligence received and processed by NDLEA. This came on the heels of the seizure of a consignment of tramadol buried in containers of black soap heading to the UK. The shipment was intercepted by NDLEA operatives at a courier firm in Lagos on Wednesday 22nd July.