The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has apprehended a businessman attempting to smuggle 256 wraps of cocaine through Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport (MAKIA), Kano.
Femi Babafemi, NDLEA Director of Media and Advocacy, revealed in a statement on Sunday that the intercepted drugs weighed six kilograms. The suspect, Chibuzo Olisaka, was arrested on Dec. 15 during the inward clearance of passengers on an Ethiopian Airlines flight ET 941 from Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, via Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
“This is the largest single seizure of cocaine at the Kano airport since the establishment of the MAKIA NDLEA Command in 2006,” Babafemi stated.
Olisaka, who claimed to operate an import and export business, was subjected to body screening, revealing hundreds of cocaine pellets concealed on his person.
In a separate incident, NDLEA officers thwarted an ex-convict’s attempt to export drugs through Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos. The suspect, Akorede Olanrewaju, was intercepted while trying to ship rohypnol hidden in a consignment of gari, shoes, singlets, and other items to South Africa.
Babafemi noted that Olanrewaju, previously convicted for a similar crime in 2023, had paid a fine of N900,000 to avoid a two-year prison sentence. He was rearrested for repeating the offense.
In another case, NDLEA operatives arrested Cynthia Akaeen, an Italy-based businesswoman, on Dec. 18 at Lagos Airport. Akaeen was intercepted during the outward clearance for a Royal Air Maroc flight to Italy via Addis Ababa.
“A total of 9,190 tablets of tramadol, weighing six kilograms, were recovered from her. She admitted being promised 1,000 Euros upon successfully delivering the consignment in Italy,” Babafemi disclosed.
The NDLEA continues its intensified crackdown on drug trafficking networks across Nigeria.
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