Italy based businessman arrested at airport excretes 98 wraps of cocaine

A 30-year-old Italy-based businessman, Joseph Cyril, has been arrested by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, AIIA, Enugu for ingesting 98 wraps of cocaine while heading to Italy via Addis Ababa and France.

NDLEA spokesman, Mr. Femi Babafemi, made this known in a press statement on Sunday.

The suspect who was nabbed at the departure hall of the airport on Sunday 2nd August 2026 during the outward clearance of passengers on Ethiopian Airlines flight ET930, was subsequently placed on excretion observation during which he excreted 98 wraps of cocaine weighing 1.510 kilograms.

‎Investigations revealed that Cyril had arrived Nigeria from Italy on 13th July 2026 and ingested the drug in a hotel in Awka, Anambra State, before proceeding to Enugu to board his flight to Europe on Sunday 2nd August.

In his statement, he claimed he had been doing business in Italy for years before agreeing to traffic the drug consignment for a fee of 3,500 Euros in order to raise money to relocate to Germany where his family is based.

Attempts by some drug trafficking syndicates to export 1.2 kilograms of cocaine concealed in 25 pieces of phone chargers going to Saudi Arabia were thwarted by NDLEA operatives at a courier firm in Lagos.

A similar bid to send 500 grams of the same class A drug hidden in the false bottom of a backpack to Italy was equally aborted in another logistics company by NDLEA officers on Monday 3rd August, while a consignment of 2.3kg Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis, coming from the United States was intercepted in another shipping company in Lagos on Tuesday 4th August.

Meanwhile, NDLEA officers on patrol along Akure-Ilesha expressway on Tuesday 4th August intercepted a truck heading to the North with 1,633 kilograms of skunk concealed in bags of rice shafts. Two suspects: Buba Jamilu, 40, and Sanusi Ibrahim, 30, transporting the consignment were arrested, while a total of 147kg skunk was recovered from Ita Ogbolu forest during a raid operation on Monday 3rd August.

In Oyo State, operatives acting on credible intelligence on Monday 3rd August raided a drug warehouse in Elebure village, Orire LGA, where they recovered 731.03 kilograms and arrested a suspect, Felicia Thompson, 57, while her partner, Thompson Vincent Nwaka is at large.

In a similar operation in Edo State on Wednesday 5th August, operatives supported by soldiers recovered 65 jumbo bags of skunk weighing 604.5kg at Ewe Luleha in Owan West local government area.

While a drug joint operator, Chibuike Charles, 31, was arrested during a raid at his Samec by Powerline base in Osisioma local government area, Abia State, where 7kg of skunk was seized on Thursday 6th August, a notorious wanted drug dealer, Adome Claude Sikuru, was on Saturday 8th August nabbed at the fibre market drug jungle, Badagry, Lagos, after a three-month manhunt for him.

As at the time of his arrest, 88.5kg of skunk was seized from him.

A total of 73 cartons containing 442 packets of cookies and gummies infused with cannabis weighing 309.4kg were discovered during a joint examination of a 40ft container by NDLEA officers, Customs and other security agencies on Tuesday 4th August at the Tincan port complex Lagos.

A suspect, Larry Nnaji, has already been arrested in connection with the seizure.

With the same vigour, commands and formations of the agency across the country continued their War Against Drug Abuse, WADA, sensitization activities to schools, worship centres, work places and communities among others in the past week.

These include WADA enlightenment lecture to students and staff of Islamic High School, Saki, Oyo State; Holy Ghost Academy, Nkpor, Anambra; and Madarasatul Hidayatul Aulad Islamiyya, Gaya, Kano; while the Rivers state command of NDLEA paid a WADA advocacy visit to the management of Ignatius Ajuru University of Education, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, among others.

While commending the officers and men of DOGI, AIIA, Ondo, Oyo, Edo, Abia, Seme, and Tincan commands for the various successful operations, Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd) enjoined them and their colleagues across the country to continue with the ongoing balanced approach to the drug control efforts of the agency.

It has a harrowing tale of hardship for commuters on the ever busy Mokwa- Bida highway as protesters blocked the highway over claims of persistent banditry.

A correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, who was at the scene, reports that all entry points into Mokwa were blocked by the angry protesters.

It was gathered that many travellers had been stranded since Saturday night.

One of the protesters, Saliu Mohammed, claimed that suspected bandits recently abducted 15 residents of the community.

This could not be independently verified.

He alleged that security agencies had not been able to rescue the victims.

Mohammed vowed that the protest would be sustained until the victims were rescued.

A commuter heading to Abuja from Ilorin, Joy Amaechi, lamented that she had spent five hours at Mokwa with no solution in sight.

She called for urgent government intervention to rescue the victims.

A driver with a popular mass transit company, Henry Nwachuckwu, said he had arrived at Mokwa at about 7 am on Sunday.

As at the time of filing this report at about 10.30 am, the protesters had yet to leave the highway.

Source: NAN

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