NDLEA arrests 74-year-old man at Abuja airport with 11kg cocaine hidden in balloons

Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a 74-year-old man, Ikwuakalom Nwakoro Emeka, at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, with a large consignment of cocaine concealed in foil papers and balloons inside his luggage.

The suspect, who claimed he was travelling to London in the United Kingdom for vacation, was apprehended by NDLEA officers at the departure hall of the Abuja airport while attempting to board a British Airways flight BA082 to Heathrow, London, on Saturday, March 14, 2026.
During a search of his luggage after the arrest, officers discovered blocks of cocaine weighing 11 kilograms hidden inside food items, including ground dry pepper, carefully wrapped in foil papers and balloons.
The agency also disclosed that at least 339,800 bottles of codeine-based syrup were intercepted in two containers at the Apapa Port in Lagos on Saturday, March 14, during a joint examination of the shipments by NDLEA operatives, officers of the Nigeria Customs Service and other security agencies. The containers had earlier been placed on a watch list by NDLEA following credible intelligence suggesting that opioids were concealed in them.
In a separate operation, NDLEA operatives acting on credible intelligence in the early hours of Monday, March 9, arrested a woman identified as Mrs. Maryam Olalowo at Ikad Hotel and Suites on Etim Inyang Street, Victoria Island, Lagos.
She was apprehended while attempting to sell 89 grams of cocaine and 20 grams of Canadian Loud, a strain of cannabis. At the time of the arrest, she was with her three children, including an infant.
The woman reportedly admitted that the drugs belonged to her husband, Ibrahim Olalowo Olatunji. He was later arrested the same day while his wife was immediately released.
According to the anti-drug agency, Ibrahim confirmed ownership of the drugs during interrogation. Further investigation also revealed that he had previously been arrested, convicted and sentenced to two and a half years imprisonment for a similar offence in 2015.
This was disclosed in a statement issued on Sunday in Abuja by the Director of Media and Advocacy at NDLEA Headquarters, Femi Babafemi.
Babafemi added that NDLEA operatives also arrested two suspects, Kalilou Simpara and Saidu Ibrahim, at Ebute Ero on Lagos Island, where they recovered 68,000 pills of tramadol (250mg and 225mg). The suspects had already loaded the drugs into a truck and were preparing to transport them to the Benin Republic on Monday, March 9.
“A follow-up operation was carried out on Wednesday, March 11, at Idumota Market, Lagos Island, where the owner of the consignment, Nnamdi Cyprian, was arrested.
“A search of his shop led to the discovery of a parcel prepared for waybill delivery containing 1,000 tablets of tramadol 250mg. Another raid at Idumota Market on Friday, March 13, resulted in the arrest of Nwanosike Kelvin and the recovery of 47,500 ampoules of pentazocine injection from his shop.
“Meanwhile, a 42-year-old man, Magaji Dan Azumi, was arrested in the Bebeji area of Kano with 386kg of skunk on Tuesday, March 10. NDLEA officers in Abuja also recovered 282.2kg of skunk from a suspect, Isah Wako, 42, in the Gwagwalada area of the FCT on Friday, March 13,” the statement said.
In Edo State, NDLEA operatives raided the Egwa Forest Reserve in Aduan village, Orhionmwon Local Government Area, where a suspect, Chinedo Odalonu, 33, was arrested. A total of 4,218.96kg of skunk was destroyed on two farms, while 16.5kg of the substance was recovered.