DAILY COURIER - Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a 42-year-old Indian woman, Ms. Neetu Neetu, at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport (MAKIA), Kano, for attempting to smuggle 72 parcels of heroin disguised as chocolates into Nigeria.
A statement today by the agency's and Femi Babafemi disclosed that the 11-kilogram heroin consignment, factory-sealed in wafer wraps, was recovered from Neetu’s luggage during an inward clearance of a Qatar Airways flight QR1431 from Bangkok, Thailand, via Vietnam and Doha, on Friday, March 14, 2025. Acting on credible intelligence, NDLEA officers intercepted the illicit drugs at the airport’s arrival hall.
Reacting to the arrest, NDLEA Chairman/CEO, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd.), noted that international drug cartels are increasingly using foreign nationals, including white women, to traffic drugs through Nigerian borders. He commended his officers for leveraging modern technology and proactive intelligence to thwart such attempts.
In a related development, NDLEA operatives in Kano and Lagos made significant drug seizures. On Thursday, March 20, officers arrested a suspect, Michael Ogundele, at Gadar Tamburawa along Zaria-Kano Road with a 50-litre steel gas cylinder. After cutting it open, they discovered 50,000 tramadol 225mg pills hidden inside. On Wednesday, March 19, another suspect, Sunday Ogar, was arrested in Gunduwawa, Kano, with 27kg of skunk, a highly potent strain of cannabis. On Tuesday, March 18, a female suspect, Khadijah Abdullahi, was apprehended in Lungun Bulala Yalwa, Kano, with 424 bottles of codeine-based syrup. In Lagos, two suspects, Olumuyiwa Kolawole and Samod Adisa, were arrested in Mushin with 67.5kg of skunk, while an additional 100.8kg of the same substance was recovered from the store of two fleeing suspects in Anifowoshe, Mushin. That same day, in Apapa, Lagos, another suspect, Isah Idris, was caught with 4.5kg of skunk, 600 grams of tramadol 225mg, and 30 litres of codeine syrup. Meanwhile, in Ikotun, Lagos, Yahaya Mohamed was arrested with different quantities of cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine.
Beyond enforcement, the NDLEA has continued its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) campaign by conducting sensitization programs in schools, markets, motor parks, workplaces, and places of worship across the country. Some of the schools engaged in the past week include Chrisland School in Ikeja, Lagos; Hakimi Secondary School in Mokwa, Niger State; Marist Comprehensive College in Nteje, Anambra State; Ikole City College in Ikole Ekiti, Ekiti State; Government Day Secondary School in Sunane, Sokoto State; and Government Day Secondary School in Jada, Adamawa State.
Brig. Gen. Marwa commended the officers of MAKIA, Lagos, and Kano Commands for their efforts in intercepting illicit drugs. He emphasized the importance of balancing drug supply reduction with demand reduction strategies and urged all NDLEA formations nationwide to remain vigilant and relentless in the fight against drug trafficking.
