‘I sold everything to raise ₦23m for cocaine deal to make N100m in India’— Arrested Businessman

Mercy Iheoma Ihedigbo

A 48-year-old Lagos-based marble businessman, Nwankwo Innocent Onyebuchi, has confessed that he sold his business and all his assets to raise ₦23 million to finance a cocaine deal, hoping to make as much as ₦100 million from the consignment in India before he was arrested by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.

According to the Director, Media and Advocacy, NDLEA Headquarters, Femi Babafemi, Nwankwo, who deals in marble in Lagos, was arrested at the departure hall of Terminal II of the Lagos airport while attempting to board a Qatar Airways flight to New Delhi, India.

A search of his check-in bag uncovered 1.550 kilograms of cocaine factory-fitted into the walls and railings of the bag.

In a candid confession that lays bare the desperation that fuels the illicit drug trade, Nwankwo said he had sold off his marble business and every asset he owned to raise the ₦23 million he paid for the consignment, with the expectation of selling it in India for as much as ₦100 million.

With his assets gone and his dream of transiting from a marble trader to a drug kingpin effectively shattered following his arrest, the suspect remains in custody awaiting prosecution and possible imprisonment.

In another operation, NDLEA operatives, acting on credible intelligence, raided a warehouse within a residential compound at 20 Hakeem Dosumu Street, Ago Palace area of Okota, Lagos, where a massive stockpile of codeine-based syrup was discovered.

A total of 3,776 cartons, comprising 377,600 bottles of the controlled substance valued at over ₦2.6 billion, were recovered between Friday, 7 August, and Saturday, 8 August 2026.
In yet another intelligence-led operation, NDLEA operatives on Wednesday, 12 August, raided the residence of a 55-year-old kingpin, Shoremi Kayode, at 37 Ogundare Street, Ipaja Estate, Ipaja area of Lagos, recovering 324 kilograms of Colorado, a synthetic strain of cannabis, with a street value of ₦972 million.

Also recovered from the suspect were a Mercedes-Benz car and a Toyota Corolla.
In Kwara State, two suspects, Abubakar Adamu, 50, and Bilyaminu Nuhu, 30, were arrested on Thursday, 13 August, at Kam Wire area of Ilorin with 55.96kg of skunk. A truck marked DKA 350 XL was also recovered.

Meanwhile, two other suspects, 70-year-old Abdulfatai Oyelaran and Abdulrauf Ajadi, 50, were nabbed by NDLEA officers on patrol along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Ibadan, Oyo State, on Wednesday, 12 August.

Recovered from their Toyota Sienna vehicle, marked FFA-115KA, were 52,000 ampoules of pentazocine injection and 6,000 ampoules of tramadol injection.

A total of 124,100 pills of tramadol, 786 bottles of codeine syrup, 2,598 tablets of Rohypnol, 4,800 tablets of diazepam, 470 ampoules of pentazocine injection and 200 ampoules of tramadol injection were recovered from two suspects, Osaro Ikpoba, 43, and Samuel Godbless, 18, along the Onitsha/Asaba Expressway on Thursday, 13 August.

Another suspect, Emeka Tony, 50, was nabbed with 1,244 pieces of cartridges and a monetary exhibit of ₦8 million along the Kwale/Ozoro Expressway on Wednesday, 12 August.

A Toyota Corolla car with registration number MKD 341 EA was intercepted by NDLEA operatives along the Riyom/Jos Road, Jos, Plateau State, where 239,490 capsules of Tramaforce, a brand of tramadol, were recovered. A suspect, Kasum Sherif, was arrested in connection with the seizure.

In Kano, six suspects were arrested on Monday, 10 August, by NDLEA operatives on patrol along the Zaria-Kano Road. They include Okodili Ibeabuchi, 60; Onyeka Vincent, 47; Nwanko Wisdom, 36; Success Chigozie, 30; Emmanuel Jude, 27; and Chinedu Peter, 39.

Large consignments of opioids were recovered from them, including 728,958 pills of tramadol, Rohypnol and others, as well as 360 grams of cocaine, 99.8 grams of methamphetamine, 50 bottles of codeine syrup and 2.7 kilograms of Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis.

Also in Kano, NDLEA operatives on Friday, 14 August, raided Zawaciki Gida Dubu, Kumbotso LGA, where they recovered 171 blocks of skunk weighing 106.8kg and arrested two suspects, Mustapha Iliya, 30, and Abdulwahab Abdulrashid, 24, in connection with the seizure.

A total of 4,628.9775kg of skunk was destroyed on two cannabis farms measuring 1.851591 hectares at Ugboku/Igbanke Forest, Orhionmwon LGA, Edo State, where a suspect, Agholor Elebojie, 40, was arrested on one of the farms during a raid by NDLEA operatives on Wednesday, 12 August.

Another suspect, Kingsley Anigala, 28, was nabbed with 25.857kg of Loud and 93 grams of meth during a raid on drug joints in the Oluku area of Benin City on Friday, 14 August.

The War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) social advocacy activities by NDLEA Commands also continued across the country in the past week. Some of the activities included WADA sensitisation lectures delivered to students and staff of Madarasatu Sheikh Muhammad Rabi’u Arabic School, Kano, and Olomu Junior Secondary School, Ajah, Lagos State, among others.

While commending the officers, men and women of the MMIA, Lagos, Kano, Kwara, Edo, Plateau, Oyo and Delta Commands of the Agency for the arrests and seizures recorded in the past week, the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd.), also praised their counterparts in all the commands across the country for pursuing a fair balance between drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction efforts.