The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, has intercepted a Brazil-returning Nigerian businessman with cocaine concealed on his body and in the soles of his footwear, as the agency intensified nationwide operations that led to massive seizures of illicit drugs across several states.

Speaking on the development, in a statement on Sunday said NDLEA’s Director, Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, said operatives arrested 47-year-old Uche Franklin Onyekwere at the arrival hall of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos, following “processed intelligence” on his movement.

Babafemi said the suspect was apprehended on Thursday, 29 January 2026, during inward clearance of South African Airways passengers arriving from Brazil via Johannesburg.

He stated that a body scan confirmed the concealment of illicit drugs, prompting a strip search that led to the recovery of three wraps of cocaine weighing 1.60 kilograms.

Babafemi added that one parcel was found wrapped around the suspect’s thigh, while two others were hidden in the soles of his footwear.

According to him, preliminary investigations revealed that the suspect purchased the cocaine in Brazil to resell in Nigeria in order to raise funds for his business and family obligations.

Babafemi noted that Onyekwere, who has lived in São Paulo since 2008, claimed to operate a toy business.

Babafemi also disclosed that NDLEA operatives, in collaboration with Customs and other security agencies, intercepted 55 jumbo bags of Canadian Loud weighing 1,183 kilograms at the Tincan Seaport, Lagos. He said the drugs, imported from Montreal, Canada, were concealed inside two vehicles in a container.

Highlighting other major seizures, Babafemi said operatives in Niger State intercepted a truck conveying 2,735 kilograms of skunk and one kilogram of Colorado, leading to the arrest of three suspects.

He added that further raids in Edo State uncovered large consignments of skunk, including the destruction of over 4,063 kilograms of cannabis on 1.6 hectares of farmland.

Babafemi stated that similar interceptions were recorded in Anambra, Ondo and Kano States, where operatives seized skunk, tramadol pills and 12,500 ampoules of pentazocine injection, arresting multiple suspects in the process.

He noted that alongside enforcement, NDLEA sustained its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation campaigns nationwide.

While commending officers involved in the operations, Babafemi said the NDLEA Chairman, Mohamed Buba Marwa, urged all commands to maintain a balanced approach to drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction efforts across the country.