Illicit Drug Trafficking: NDLEA Nabs Widow With Fake Pregnancy, Two Dispatch Riders, Others in Inter-State Cocaine, Cannabis, and Opioids Busts

By Raheem Ibrahim

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has apprehended a widow attempting to traffic 1.3 kilograms of cocaine by faking pregnancy in a bid to evade detection.

The suspect, 50-year-old Mrs. Ifeoma Henrietta Ezewuike, a fashion designer and mother of one, was arrested on Friday, August 22, 2025, at a bus terminal in Jibowu, Yaba, Lagos. Ezewuike, proprietress of Golden Star Creation in Ago Palace Way, Okota, Lagos, was attempting to transport the cocaine to customers in Abuja.

A follow-up operation at her residence in Ago Palace led to the recovery of 200 grams of cutting agent used in processing cocaine. In her statement, Ezewuike claimed she inherited the illicit trade from her late husband, who died two years ago, adding that she has been in the fashion business for 20 years.

Similarly, NDLEA officers intercepted 90 parcels of “Loud” (a strain of cannabis) weighing 48.6kg at a courier company in Lagos on Tuesday, August 19. The drugs, imported from the United States, were concealed in three cartons of kitchen sinks.

Confirming the nationwide breakthroughs, NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi disclosed that two dispatch riders were arrested during a stop-and-search operation in Jabi, Abuja, on Thursday, August 21. The suspects — Garba Sule, 29, and Isaac Augustine, 35 — were caught distributing illicit drugs. Sule was found with 300 milligrams of pentazocine injection, while Augustine was nabbed with 8.64 grams of skunk packaged for delivery.

In Adamawa, NDLEA operatives, acting on credible intelligence, raided the home of a notorious drug dealer, Idris Garba, in Rumde Baru, Yola South, on Friday, August 22. Garba escaped by scaling a fence, but his associate, 55-year-old Boniface Nnaji, was arrested while attempting the same. Recovered from the premises were a black Toyota Tundra jeep and a Toyota Yaris, both used to transport 354,480 pills of tramadol and other opioids to Yola.

Other major seizures included:

• Kogi State: 5,000 capsules of tramadol, 400 ampoules of pentazocine injection, and 200 ampoules of diazepam injection seized from Neche Okonkwo at Idah waterside on Wednesday, August 20, after crossing the River Niger from Onitsha.
• Kano State: 5,850 capsules of pregabalin recovered from Buhari Ibrahim, 25, and Mansur Musa, 24, at Zangon Dakata Ungogo on Tuesday, August 19. The same day, NDLEA recovered 452,070 pills of opioids from the home of fugitive suspect Rabilu Mukhtar in Rangaza, Ungogo LGA. In another operation, Buhari Idris, 35, was caught with 140 litres of codeine syrup at Tashan Rami, while 7,000 capsules of tramadol were seized from Adamu Yusuf, 29, along Zaria-Kano Road on Saturday, August 23.
• Kwara State: Three major seizures of skunk totaling 2,289.49kg were made in Ajase-Ipo between Wednesday, August 20, and Thursday, August 21. Arrested suspects include Kabiru Abdullahi, Paul Olaniran (47), Abubakar Zaki (44), and Yau Babangida (45).
• Ekiti State: Awe Sunday (50) and Ayodele Adedayo (54) were arrested at Alafia Quarters, Ikere-Ekiti, with 96kg of skunk.
• Taraba State: NDLEA and Civil Defence operatives destroyed 7,500kg of skunk on three hectares of farmland in Dadin Kowa village, Bali LGA, on Wednesday, August 20.
• Edo State: 901kg of skunk was recovered from a warehouse in Uzebba, Owan West LGA, on Tuesday, August 19, leading to the arrest of 54-year-old Fodo Stella Sunday. Another 14,233.37kg of skunk was destroyed on four plantations in Ebule forest, Owan West, on Wednesday, August 20.
• Delta State: With military support, NDLEA destroyed 25,500kg of skunk on four plantations covering 10.2 hectares in Emu-Obiogu, Ndokwa West LGA, on Thursday, August 21.
• Ondo State: 25,025kg of skunk was destroyed on three farms spanning 10.01 hectares at Asolo Camp, Uso area, on the same day.

Meanwhile, NDLEA formations across the country intensified their War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitization campaigns. Activities included lectures at Women Islamiyya School, Kanti Central Mosque in Katsina; Fathul Bari Islamiyya School in Bebeji, Kano; advocacy visits to Governor Alex Otti in Abia State; and a royal visit to HRH Andoma of Doma, Alhaji Ahmadu Aliyu Ogah, in Nasarawa State.

NDLEA Chairman, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd.), commended officers and men across the affected states for their resilience and charged them to sustain the balanced approach to drug control.