NDLEA operatives at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos have arrested a 34-year-old Ugandan woman attempting to smuggle 87 wraps of cocaine weighing 1.15kg out of the country.
The suspect had originally arrived in Nigeria on October 29 alongside members of her church to attend a prayer session at The Synagogue Church of All Nations in Lagos. While the rest of her group flew back home after the event, she stayed behind to collect the illicit drugs from a contact, intending to deliver them to a friend in Uganda for an expected fee of $1,000.
Officers intercepted her at the Terminal II screening point while she was preparing to board a flight to Uganda. A body search revealed the cocaine wrapped beneath her clothing around her pelvic region.
In a separate operation at the airport, officers uncovered 750,000 tablets of Tapentadol 250mg, weighing 526kg and valued at ₦900 million. The consignment, shipped from India, had been falsely declared as paracetamol. The drugs arrived on November 3 and were seized following a joint inspection with security agencies after being placed under surveillance.
Additionally, officers intercepted 16.15kg of cannabis concealed inside two wooden sofas arriving from Houston, Texas. A freight agent attempting to clear the shipment was taken into custody, alongside a 34-year-old caterer from Ibadan who later arrived to collect the package.
