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… busts syndicate that plants illicit drugs in passengers’ luggage

…arrests 3 transnational traffickers with 558,000 pills of tramadol 250mg hidden in truck’s false belly
…intercepts China-bound businesswoman with large consignment of cocaine

A 38-year-old businesswoman Iwebema Ogechi Peace has been arrested by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) following the discovery of a large consignment of cocaine concealed in false bottom of her luggage while heading to Beijing, China, aboard a Qatar Airways flight through the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) Ikeja Lagos.

Iwebema who claims she travels to China to buy items for sale in Nigeria, was arrested on Sunday 21st June 2026 at the departure hall of terminal 2 of the Lagos airport based on credible intelligence. A search of her check-in luggage led to the discovery of four large parcels of cocaine concealed in false bottom professionally created in her bag. The parcels of the class A drug found hidden in the bag have a combined weight of 7.5 kilograms.

In another major interdiction operation, efforts by operatives of two Special Operations Units of NDLEA tracking and monitoring a container laden with 195 big sacks of Canadian Loud, a strong strain of cannabis from Toronto, Canada, for over four weeks paid off on Wednesday 23rd June 2026 when a total of 4,959 kilograms of the illicit drug consignment worth Twelve Billion Three Hundred and Ninety Seven Million Five Hundred Thousand Naira (N12, 397,500,000) in street value, were recovered from the container during a joint examination of the shipment by officers of the Apapa Strategic Command of the Agency, men of Customs Service, other security agencies and ports stakeholders at the Apapa ports complex, Lagos.

The large illicit drug consignment which was loaded into a 40ft container comprising a Ford and a Nissan vehicle came under NDLEA tracking and monitoring system since 25th April 2026 when it arrived Toronto, Canada via truck, Montreal via rail on 29th April, Tanger Med Morocco on 11th May, loaded on another vessel on 23rd May before arriving Tincan port Lagos on 4th June and discharged there 5th June before the container eventually left Tincan and arrived Apapa port on Monday 22nd June.

Meanwhile, NDLEA operatives in FCT Abuja in a joint operation with their colleagues in Anambra have unraveled a syndicate which plants illicit drugs in the luggage of unsuspecting passengers in motor parks. Their trick came to the fore when operatives in Abuja intercepted a consignment of methamphetamine in a Sienna bus coming from Nnewi Anambra State at Abaji, FCT on Saturday 20th June, 2026. During a search of the bus, a waybill package was recovered containing whitish substances suspected to be methamphetamine concealed inside a black nylon bag, which was also put into another sack of clothes with the phone number of the receiver written on it. A follow up operation conducted same day led to the arrest of the supposed receiver of the waybill Mrs. Gloria Peter at Utako motor park.

She however vehemently denied knowledge and ownership of the package in her luggage. This led to a swift arrest of the loaders of the Sienna bus in Nnewi where one of them revealed that the drug package was put into the woman’s bag by him on the directive of the driver of the bus Abdurrazak Isah. His revelations made the driver to open up and mentioned one of his passengers Onyebuchi Victor Okoye as the actual owner of the drug. Onyebuchi was then picked up at Utako, FCT during another follow up operation. The illicit consignment weighed 467.7grams.

Operatives of a Special Operations Unit of NDLEA on Saturday 27th June acting on credible intelligence, arrested 57-year-old Ikechukwu Uwakwe at a motor park in Iddo, Lagos with 209.50kg Scottish Loud, a strong strain of cannabis. The illicit consignment was being taken to Enugu when it was intercepted.

Two nationals of Benin Republic: Hossou Tito Julien, 30; and Mancellim Dossou, 19 as well as a Nigerian Jackson ThankGod have been arrested by NDLEA operatives following credible intelligence.

They were nabbed on the Mile 2 bridge when their truck conveying illicit drug consignment from Togo through Benin Republic was intercepted on Sunday 21st June.

A thorough search of the truck led to the recovery of Five Hundred and Fifty-Eight Thousand Nine Hundred (558,900) pills of Tramadol 250mg, concealed in a fabricated compartment of the vehicle. Two suspects: Lucky Abonga and Osas Azamobo were also arrested along Lagos–Ibadan expressway on Friday 26th June while transporting 118kg skunk among other legitimate goods in a truck, which left Ebute Ero area of Lagos Island, heading to Onitsha, Anambra State.

In another operation in Lagos, Helen Ese Idiji, 40, and Rashidat Sa’adullah, 53, were arrested same Friday 26th June at 15 Olumokun Street, Amukoko, with 28.8 kilograms of skunk recovered from them. Investigation revealed that the principal suspect, Helen stores her illicit consignments with the second suspect, Rashidat, from where she distributes to her customers.

With the same zeal, Commands and formations of the Agency across the country continued their War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitization activities in schools, worship centres, work places and communities among others in the past week. These include: WADA enlightenment lecture for students and staff of Government Girls Science Secondary School, Damaturu, Yobe; Adesalu Primary School, Ibeju Lekki, Lagos; Government Girls Secondary School, Badawa, Kano; School of Science and Islamic Studies, Ankpa, Kogi; and Community Secondary School, Ezimo, Udenu LGA, Enugu state, among others.

While commending the officers and men of the MMIA, SOUs, Apapa, FCT, Anambra, and Lagos Commands of the Agency for the arrests and seizures, Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd) noted their drug supply reduction efforts balanced with WADA sensitization activities while he charged them and their compatriots across the country not to rest on their oars.

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BUA Cement Plc has distributed agricultural inputs valued at over N108 million to 211 farmers from its host and resettled communities in Sokoto State under its Resettlement and Sustainable Livelihood Restoration Programme.

The initiative is targeted at farmers affected by the company’s quarry operations and is aimed at restoring livelihoods, improving agricultural productivity and supporting food production.

Speaking at the distribution ceremony, the Managing Director of BUA Cement Plc, Engr. Yusuf Binji, said the programme reflects the company’s commitment to sustainable community development and economic empowerment.

Represented by the Assistant Director of Corporate Services, Alhaji Sada Suleiman, Binji said the intervention was designed to help resettled community members rebuild their livelihoods through agriculture.

“We believe that supporting agriculture is one of the most effective ways of empowering rural households and improving their economic well-being,” he said.

According to him, the company is focused on creating sustainable opportunities for affected communities beyond compensation and resettlement.

He added that the intervention would help improve beneficiaries’ incomes while contributing to increased food production in Sokoto State and across the country.

The company’s Director of Health, Community, Safety and Environment, Engr. Ali Gumel, urged beneficiaries to make effective use of the farm inputs, noting that they had received training on their proper application.

He said the company expects the inputs to translate into higher crop yields, improved household incomes and sustainable agricultural development.

Also speaking, the Programme Manager of the Sokoto State Agricultural Development Programme (SADP), Alhaji Abubakar Danmaliki, described the initiative as an example of effective collaboration between the private and public sectors in promoting rural development.

He said the programme would support farmers in recovering from the challenges associated with resettlement while boosting agricultural output.

Danmaliki added that beneficiaries would continue to receive extension services and technical support to encourage the adoption of improved farming practices.

The company’s Social Performance Specialist, Alhaji Rabiu Maska, said the package included NPK, urea and liquid fertilisers, improved maize, sorghum, cowpea and groundnut seeds, as well as pesticides, herbicides and other farm inputs.

According to him, the intervention was tailored to meet the farming needs of the beneficiaries and improve their harvests.

Some of the beneficiaries commended BUA Cement for the support, describing it as timely in view of rising production costs.

They pledged to utilise the inputs for the intended agricultural purposes to maximise the benefits of the programme.

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The All Progressives Congress (APC) has emerged victorious in all the 24 chairmanship seats and 240 councillorship positions contested in Saturday’s local government elections in Gombe State.

Chairman of the Gombe State Independent Electoral Commission (GOSIEC), Abdullahi Garba Talasse, who announced the results on Saturday in Gombe, declared that the ruling party won in all the local government councils and Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs) where elections were conducted.

Talasse described the successful conduct of elections in the newly created LCDAs as a milestone in the state’s democratic development, noting that Gombe had expanded from 11 local government councils with 114 councillors to 24 councils and LCDAs with 240 councillors.

He said the commission worked closely with the State House of Assembly to secure the legal backing required for elections to be held in the LCDAs.

“We did not struggle for the enabling law in vain. Today, we have successfully conducted elections across the 24 councils and LCDAs, which is a significant achievement for the state,” he said.

The GOSIEC chairman attributed the poor showing of opposition parties to their limited participation in the polls.

According to him, the African Congress (AC) fielded candidates in only three chairmanship contests, while the Democratic Liberation Alliance (DLA) contested in six councils.

He added that the New Nigeria People’s Movement (NRM), Youth Party (YP) and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) each sponsored candidates in three chairmanship elections.

For councillorship positions, Talasse said AC contested in eight wards, while DLA, NRM, YP and ZLP each fielded candidates in 11 wards.

“That explains why some parties recorded zero votes in several areas because they did not participate across all the councils and wards,” he said.

Talasse explained that although chairmanship results were declared at the various local government collation centres, the commission considered it necessary to present a statewide summary to journalists, observers and the public.

“From the results before the commission, APC has won all the 24 chairmanship seats and all the 240 councillorship positions,” he declared.

He commended political parties, election observers, civil society organisations, security agencies and other stakeholders for contributing to the peaceful conduct of the elections.

The GOSIEC chairman also appreciated party leaders, government officials, non-governmental organisations and other guests from across the country who monitored the exercise, describing their participation as crucial to the success of the electoral process.