Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have dismantled multiple drug trafficking operations across Nigeria, apprehending a woman who used a prosthetic baby bump to conceal opioids and a real estate executive accused of running an illicit drug distribution network.
At the Seme land border on February 16, 2026, NDLEA officers stopped Rabi Muhammad, a 35-year-old Kano-based businesswoman, as she attempted to enter Cotonou, Benin Republic. Despite presenting the appearance of an expectant mother, a thorough search exposed her pregnancy as a ruse — officers found 3,200 tramadol capsules hidden inside a specially crafted prosthetic bump fastened around her midsection.
That same day at Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport (MAKIA), agents intercepted a 41-year-old Ivorian national, Michael Gohouri — also known as Anunwa Onyinye Michael — as he prepared to board Ethiopian Airlines flight ET940 bound for Milan via Addis Ababa. A body scan raised suspicions, and subsequent medical observation confirmed he had swallowed 82 wraps of cocaine weighing 1.49kg. Investigators say he was promised €5,000 upon delivery in Italy, and had moved between Lagos, Enugu and Kano before ingesting the drugs in a Kano hotel.
In a separate but related operation, NDLEA officers arrested Kolapo Oladapo Raji, 57 — Chairman and Chief Executive of Trans Fortress Global Resources — at his Ikate, Lekki residence on February 12, following months of surveillance. The agency had reportedly been monitoring him since 2025. A search of his home uncovered 89.2kg of “Canadian Loud,” a high-potency cannabis strain, packed into four large bags, along with a 2024 Toyota Hilux. Raji allegedly confessed to financing drug shipments before building his own independent distribution network.
Simultaneous raids across Lagos, Rivers, Kogi, Ondo, Bauchi, Delta and Edo states yielded significant seizures of cannabis and tramadol. A joint inspection of a shipping container at the Port Harcourt Ports Complex in Onne further uncovered 170,900 bottles of codeine-based syrup.
NDLEA Chairman Mohamed Buba Marwa praised the operatives involved, pledging to sustain the agency’s push against drug supply and demand through enforcement operations and its ongoing War Against Drug Abuse campaign in schools and communities nationwide.
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