A Brazil-based Nigerian businessman, Uche Franklin Onyekwere, has been arrested at Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, for concealing cocaine in his private parts and footwear.
This was disclosed in a statement signed by Femi Babafemi, Director of Media and Advocacy, NDLEA Headquarters, Abuja, on Sunday, 1st February 2026.
The arrest forms part of ongoing operations by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) targeting illicit drug importation into Nigeria.
What NDLEA said
According to NDLEA, Onyekwere, has lived in São Paulo since 2008 and has operated a toy business for about nine years.
The 47-year-old was intercepted on Thursday, 29 January, during inward clearance of South African Airways passengers arriving from Brazil via Johannesburg.
When he was taken for a full body scan, the result confirmed illicit drug concealment.
“As a result, he was subjected to a strip search, during which a big parcel of white powdery substance, which later tested positive for cocaine, was discovered wrapped around his right thigh. A further search revealed two additional wraps of the same substance concealed in the sole of a pair of flat shoes worn by the suspect. In all, three large wraps of cocaine, with a gross weight of 1.60 kilograms, were recovered from his body and footwear,” the agency said
Investigations revealed he purchased the drugs in Brazil to resell in Nigeria, intending to raise capital for his business and finance the naming ceremony of his newborn child.
More insights
In Niger state, the agency intercepted a truck along the Dei-Dei Abuja expressway carrying 176 bags of skunk, a strain of cannabis, weighing 2,735 kilograms, and one kilogram of Colorado, a synthetic cannabis. Three suspects were arrested during the operation. Investigations revealed the driver had left Lagos loaded with flour and later picked up the illicit consignment in Edo state for N1.7 million.
At Tincan seaport in Lagos, they discovered 55 jumbo bags of Canadian Loud, weighing 1,183 kilograms, imported from Montreal, Canada. The drugs were hidden in a Hyundai SUV and a Toyota Matrix vehicle container.
The same day, in Anambra state, officers intercepted a cement truck at Upper Iweka, Onitsha, where 345.2 kilograms of skunk were concealed inside bags of cement.
- In Edo state, a joint raid with Nigerian Army personnel led to the destruction of 4,063.675 kilograms of skunk on over 1.6 hectares of farmland at Ebora camp, Ilushi, Esan South East LGA. Officers also recovered 328 kilograms of processed cannabis and seeds while arresting four suspects linked to the farm.
- Additional arrests in Edo involved Shaibu Yusuf, who was intercepted while attempting to transport 66 bags of skunk weighing 792 kilograms to Katsina.
- Across Ondo and Kano states, NDLEA operatives arrested Tunde Ogundele and Soji Elegbelye in connection with 473 kilograms of skunk, while Abdullahi Usman was nabbed with 12,500 ampoules of pentazocine injection. Another suspect, Musa Shuaibu, was apprehended with 4,390 tramadol pills.
In Lagos and Badagry, operatives intercepted 15.5 kilograms and 3.5 kilograms of skunk from other suspects heading for Onitsha.
What you should know
NDLEA continues to make significant drug interceptions at Nigeria’s major international airports, uncovering large quantities of narcotics concealed on passengers or in luggage
The agency intercepted two suspected traffickers at Lagos and Port Harcourt airports who had ingested a total of 125 wraps of heroin during attempted smuggling operations.
One suspect was arrested after arriving at Port Harcourt from Doha, while another was apprehended at Lagos after flying from Madagascar via Addis Ababa, both found to have swallowed large quantities of heroin that were later expelled and seized by operatives.
In October 2024, NDLEA operatives at Murtala Muhammed International Airport stopped two businessmen and a Canada‑based nurse for cocaine and cannabis trafficking.
- One businessman was arrested while trying to board a flight to Thailand with ingested cocaine, and another was apprehended on arrival from Brazil for similar offences.
- A Nigerian Canadian nurse was also detained with parcels of cannabis hidden in her luggage, highlighting how traffickers use both body concealment and luggage to move illicit drugs.
More recently, in November 2025, NDLEA uncovered cocaine concealed in automobile parts at the Lagos airport export shed. A freight agent and an auto parts dealer were arrested after officers found cocaine pellets hidden within a brake servo part destined for Gabon.
