38-year-old notorious drug dealer, Ugo Gift Okonkwo, nabbed in Port Harcourt

Stanley Ihedigbo

38-year-old suspected notorious drug dealer, Ugo Gift Okonkwo, has been arrested by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) at Eagle Island in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, following credible intelligence.

According to the Director, Media and Advocacy, NDLEA Headquarters, Femi Babafemi, during the operation, officers recovered assorted illicit drugs, including cannabis, cocaine, methamphetamine, tramadol, codeine syrup and Swinol, from the suspect.

He added that cocaine consignments were intercepted by operatives of the Directorate of Operations and General Investigations (DOGI) at a logistics company in Lagos on Thursday, July 30, 2026.

The agency spokesman explained that 250 grams of cocaine had been factory-fitted into the base of a locally made mortar packaged in a carton for shipment to China, while another 500 grams of cocaine was discovered hidden in the false bottom of a backpack destined for Italy.

In another major operation, officers conducting a stop-and-search exercise at the DMGS Roundabout in Onitsha, Anambra State, intercepted a truck with registration number XK 131 BDG loaded with 26,000 bottles of codeine syrup weighing 3,960 kilograms.

The truck driver, identified as 40-year-old Chinedu Nwanze, was arrested in connection with the seizure.

Similarly, NDLEA operatives recovered 331.84 kilograms of skunk from a Toyota Sienna bus with registration number KUJ 26 DV along the Kwale-Ughelli Expressway in Delta State on Sunday, July 26.

In Nasarawa State, officers arrested a 64-year-old suspect, Joseph Nwaeke, at Asso Angwan Muazu in the Karu area on Tuesday, July 28. He was found in possession of 68 kilograms of skunk and 29 grams of methamphetamine.

In Zamfara State, NDLEA operatives on patrol along the Zaria-Gusau Highway intercepted a 27-year-old suspect, Sani Umar, on Monday, July 27, with 7,400 tablets of tramadol (225mg), believed to be supplies intended for criminal elements operating in the region.

Beyond enforcement operations, the Agency sustained its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) advocacy campaign through sensitisation programmes in schools, motor parks, workplaces and communities across the country.

The campaign reached students and staff of Hausawa Special Primary School in Kano, Royal Crown School in Oluyole, Ibadan, Government Secondary School in Ibi, Taraba State, as well as commercial drivers at the Challenge Bus Terminal Park in Ibadan, among other locations.
Commending officers and men of the Directorate of Operations and General Investigations, as well as the Rivers, Anambra, Delta, Nasarawa and Zamfara Commands for the successful operations, the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Mohamed Buba Marwa, urged them to sustain the Agency’s balanced approach to drug control through aggressive enforcement and continuous public enlightenment.

The NDLEA said the latest seizures and arrests underscore its commitment to dismantling drug trafficking networks, preventing illicit drugs from reaching both local and international markets, and strengthening efforts to curb drug abuse across Nigeria.