Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have intercepted a Milan-bound businessman, Philip Tunde, with 4.80 kilograms of cocaine concealed in the soles of shoes and the railings of travel bags at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos.
According to the NDLEA Director, Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, in a statement on Sunday, the 38-year-old suspect was arrested on Sunday, September 27, 2026, at the joint screening point of Terminal 2 of the Lagos airport while preparing to board a Royal Air Maroc flight to Milan, Italy.
Babafemi said a thorough search by NDLEA operatives led to the recovery of 16 parcels of a white powdery substance concealed in the soles of eight pairs of trainers and canvas shoes, as well as 195 wraps of the same substance hidden in the railings of four travelling bags.
He said the substances tested positive for cocaine, with a combined weight of 4.80kg.
Babafemi stated that during interrogation, Tunde claimed he paid N16 million in cash for the cocaine concealed in the shoes, while the consignment hidden in the bags was intended for delivery to his partner in Italy.
According to him, the suspect said he raised the money from compensation paid to him for an injury he sustained while working at a plastic manufacturing company in Italy, where he lost the tips of two fingers.
Babafemi also said NDLEA operatives destroyed a total of 20,234 kilograms of skunk on 8.0936 hectares of cannabis farm in Area 4, Ife South Local Government Area of Osun State, on Wednesday, September 30.
He explained that the operation followed activities targeting cannabis cultivation in the state.
In Plateau State, Babafemi said NDLEA operatives arrested a 41-year-old suspect, Agbo Dennis, on Tuesday, September 29, at the West of Mines area of Jos North, following the seizure of 33 bags of skunk weighing 385kg.
Babafemi said NDLEA operatives in Lagos also raided an unoccupied compound at Divine Estate, Ago Palace, on Monday, September 28, recovering 209,000 tablets of tramadol.
He said a follow-up operation led to the arrest of 23-year-old Ekundayo Taiwo at Ladipo Spare Parts Market on Wednesday, September 30.
According to Babafemi, the arrest followed the seizure the previous day of 61 grams of Colorado, a synthetic strain of cannabis, and 24 grams of methamphetamine concealed inside a bottle of an energy drink packaged as a waybill and transported by a commercial bus driver along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.
In Kogi State, Babafemi disclosed that NDLEA officers on patrol along the Okene-Lokoja highway on Wednesday, September 30, intercepted a Lagos-Abuja commuter bus and discovered two sachets of methamphetamine weighing 1kg concealed in a waybill.
He said a follow-up operation led to the arrest of the alleged owner of the consignment, 29-year-old Michael Chukwuememka Uzoma, at Utako, Abuja.
Babafemi said NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd.), commended officers and men of the MMIA, Apapa, Tincan, PHPC, Lagos, Edo, Bauchi, Plateau and Osun Commands for their professionalism and intelligence-driven approach to the operations.
He said Marwa urged the officers, as well as their colleagues across the country, to sustain the agency’s efforts against drug trafficking networks while continuing with its current balanced approach to drug control.