The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested two suspected drug kingpins at Port Harcourt International Airport and Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, who excreted a total of 125 wraps of heroin. The arrests were confirmed by NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi in a statement issued on Sunday, February 9, 2025.
One of the suspects, 30-year-old Onyekwonike Elochuckwu Sylvanus, was apprehended at Port Harcourt airport on February 2 during the inward clearance of passengers on a Qatar Airways flight from Doha via Abuja. Sylvanus was found using a Sierra Leonean passport under the name Kargbo Mohamed Foday to conceal his identity.
“A body scan confirmed that he had ingested illicit drugs. Under observation, he excreted 62 wraps of heroin weighing 1.348 kilograms in five sessions,” Babafemi revealed.
Further investigations disclosed that Sylvanus had been using both his Nigerian and Sierra Leonean passports to traffic drugs across Thailand, Pakistan, Iran, and West Africa. He admitted to turning to the drug trade full-time in 2017 after his clothing and shoe business collapsed.
The second suspect, James Chinoso, 48, was arrested at Lagos airport on February 1 after arriving from Madagascar via an Ethiopian Airlines flight. Following a body scan, Chinoso excreted 63 wraps of heroin weighing 909 grams. Babafemi explained that Chinoso had left Lagos for Madagascar on January 26 and returned a week later. He claimed financial hardship following the collapse of his phone accessories business in Liberia had pushed him into drug trafficking.
In another operation on February 6, NDLEA operatives intercepted 2.82 kilograms of Loud (a synthetic strain of cannabis) smuggled from the United States and destined for Lagos. On the same day, 80 ampoules of pentazocine injection (225 grams) were seized from a logistics company shipping the items to Canada.
In Kano State, NDLEA arrested two suspects, Usaini Salisu and Yahaya Mu’azu, with 15,396 tramadol pills hidden in a gas cylinder along Zaria Road on February 3. Another arrest in Sabon Gari led to the seizure of 27 blocks of skunk (15 kg of cannabis) from Chioma Okeke, 35.
On February 8, along the Kabba-Obajana Highway in Kogi State, NDLEA operatives intercepted 12,800 tramadol 250mg pills and arrested Salisu Basiru, 33. The same day, 65 parcels of Colorado (1.6 kg of synthetic cannabis) destined for Jigawa State were recovered from Rufai Hassan, 32, at a checkpoint.
The NDLEA vowed to intensify its crackdown on drug syndicates and traffickers, promising no respite for those involved in the illicit trade.
“We remain committed to dismantling drug networks and ensuring a drug-free society,” the agency declared.
