NDLEA Arrests Lagos Businessman Over Alleged Cocaine Shipment Hidden in Food Packages Bound for UK
By: Oluwaseun M. Lawal
What looked like an ordinary shipment of Nigerian food items headed for the United Kingdom turned out to be something else entirely.
Officials of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) say they uncovered more than three kilograms of cocaine concealed inside cartons packaged as foodstuffs, setting off an investigation that led to the arrest of a Lagos businessman believed to be behind the attempted export.
The suspect, identified as Onuigbo Ndubisi Chinedu, 55, is a clothing trader at the popular Balogun Market on Lagos Island. According to the agency, he was taken into custody on Thursday, July 23, after investigators traced the intercepted shipment back to him.
The suspicious consignment had been discovered a day earlier at the export section of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos during routine screening by NDLEA officers. Hidden inside the food cartons, operatives allegedly found about 3.30 kilograms of cocaine intended for shipment to the United Kingdom.
In a statement released on Sunday, NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, said the investigation did not stop with the seizure.
Three cargo agents who processed the shipment—Nkwor Onyekachukwu Justina, Adeleke Abiola Taoheed, and Ukanwa Grace Pilgrim—were initially arrested as investigators worked to determine the source of the package.
Their questioning led officers to another suspect, Kenneth Okakpu, who allegedly delivered the consignment for export. Investigators say information obtained during that stage of the investigation eventually pointed them to Chinedu, whom they described as the alleged mastermind of the operation.
According to the agency, Chinedu was apprehended while allegedly making arrangements to send another shipment to the United Kingdom. Authorities say investigations into the network are continuing.
In a separate operation, NDLEA operatives also arrested Emmanuella Chukwu-Edo, a 31-year-old entrepreneur, over another suspected drug trafficking case.
She was taken into custody at her residence in Surulere, Lagos, after officers intercepted a package containing 2.80 kilograms of Loud, a potent synthetic strain of cannabis. The parcel had reportedly arrived in Nigeria from the United States on a United Airlines flight that landed on July 20.
The agency said intelligence gathered after the seizure helped investigators track the shipment to the suspect before carrying out the arrest.
NDLEA says both cases form part of its ongoing nationwide campaign against illicit drug trafficking, adding that investigations are still underway to identify other individuals who may be connected to the two operations.
Oluwaseun Musa Lawal is an Editor at REPORTERS ROOM with over eight years of professional journalism experience. He specializes in reporting on politics, climate change, health, and education, while also covering security, economic, and judicial affairs. His work is driven by a commitment to accuracy, balanced reporting, and public-interest journalism.
