Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a China-based Nigerian businessman and two Angolan nationals who excreted a combined total of 236 wraps of cocaine following intelligence-led operations at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja and the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport in Kano, the agency said in a statement.
NDLEA is Nigeria’s statutory anti-narcotics agency responsible for combating drug trafficking and related crimes nationwide.
It conducts screening, intelligence gathering and interdiction operations at international airports and border points to prevent illicit drugs from entering or leaving the country.
The arrests occurred on February 4, 2026, amid heightened anti-drug enforcement activities targeting international drug trafficking networks using human couriers and other concealment methods.
NDLEA spokesman Femi Babafemi said the 34-year-old Nigerian, identified as Ibeanu Vincent Chukwudulue, was intercepted while aboard Qatar Airways Flight 1432 travelling from Kano to China via Abuja and Doha.
A body scan conducted at Abuja airport indicated drug ingestion, and under observation, he excreted 52 pellets of cocaine weighing about 735.95 grams, the agency said.
Two Angolan nationals, Mbandu Martins Makiadi, 50, and Ngoma Wilson Fernando, 52, were intercepted later the same day during outward clearance at the Kano airport departure hall.
They were preparing to board an Ethiopian Airlines flight to Istanbul, Turkey via Addis Ababa when scans revealed they had ingested drugs, the statement said.
Makiadi excreted 76 wraps weighing about 920 grams, while Fernando excreted 108 wraps weighing approximately 1.33 kilograms, NDLEA said.
According to the NDLEA, all three suspects were placed under observation following positive body scans, a standard procedure that allows for the safe excretion and recovery of ingested contraband.
In interviews with NDLEA investigators, the Angolan nationals said they were recruited by a Luanda-based automobile spare-parts dealer who offered to pay them US $3,000 each upon successful delivery of the drugs in Turkey, the statement added.
The arrests and drug recoveries reflect NDLEA’s ongoing efforts to disrupt international drug trafficking networks that use human couriers to transport illicit substances through Nigeria’s airports.
The agency’s operations include body scanning technology and intelligence-led checks to intercept traffickers before they leave the country.
The involvement of foreign nationals in drug trafficking cases underscores the transnational nature of illicit drug supply chains and highlights coordination challenges for law enforcement across jurisdictions.
