The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) successfully foiled a major cocaine trafficking operation, arresting a 26-year-old nursing student, Esther Onyinyechi Uzodinma, and 33 other suspects involved in drug-related crimes across Nigeria.
Esther, a student at Noida International University in India, was apprehended on January 16, 2025, at the Royal Park Hotel in Kano, just hours before her scheduled Qatar Airways flight to Delhi. She was found to be in possession of 76 wraps of cocaine, which she was intending to swallow before boarding the flight the next morning. The drug consignment was transported to her by a courier, Cosmas Okorie, who had concealed the cocaine inside an audio speaker.
The successful operation began with a sting along the Okene-Lokoja Highway, where Okorie, 31, was intercepted on January 16 while traveling from Lagos to Kano. Inside his luggage was the concealed cocaine, weighing 1.340 kilograms. NDLEA agents quickly followed up with an operation in Kano, leading to the timely arrest of Uzodinma.
During questioning, Uzodinma revealed she was recruited by a drug cartel in India and had been promised over $5,000 for successfully smuggling the drugs. To avoid detection, she stayed in a hotel in Enugu for two weeks before being flown to Abuja and finally to Kano, where she was instructed to ingest the cocaine.
In addition to the major cocaine bust, NDLEA operatives made several other arrests across the country. Four suspects were detained for trafficking over 38,000 tramadol pills in various locations, while significant quantities of illicit drugs were seized in Lagos, Kano, Kwara, and Taraba. In Lagos, raids led to the seizure of large quantities of cannabis, tramadol, methamphetamine, and other psychoactive substances.
The NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, commended the agency’s swift action and commitment to tackling drug trafficking. He stressed the importance of continuing to combat the increasing abuse of drugs in Nigeria, highlighting the efforts of the agency to prevent such harmful activities.
The agency has vowed to maintain its rigorous operations to ensure that those who engage in the illicit drug trade face justice. The public is also urged to remain vigilant and report any suspicious activities to the authorities.
