NDLEA Arrests Brazil Returnees with 116 Wraps of Heroin, Cocaine at Lagos Airport
September 21, 2025 | ABUJA
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested two Brazil returnees who excreted a combined 116 wraps of heroin and cocaine ingested for trafficking into Nigeria.
This was disclosed in a statement by the NDLEA Director of Media and Advocacy, Mr. Femi Babafemi, on Sunday in Abuja.
Babafemi said the suspects excreted the illicit drugs after days in observatory custody, following their arrest by operatives of the NDLEA at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos.
He explained that one of the suspects was apprehended on Tuesday, Sept. 16, at Terminal 2 of the Lagos airport upon his arrival from Laos, Brazil, on an Ethiopian Airlines flight.
According to Babafemi, the suspect was taken for a body scan which confirmed the ingestion of hard drugs.
He revealed that the traffickers had departed Nigeria for Brazil on Sept. 3 to courier the consignments to Lagos in exchange for a promised $2,500 reward upon successful delivery.
“A swift follow-up operation was conducted at Eliata Hotel in Amuwo Odofin area of Lagos.
“This is where Ofoma was instructed to meet Nweke Chuckwudi who was designated to oversee the excretion of the drugs at the hotel and recover them.
“The 55-year-old Nweke was arrested in the process. A total of 111 wraps of heroin weighing 1.452 kilograms were egested in eight excretions by Ofoma,” he said.
Similarly, Babafemi said another Brazil returnee was arrested at the Lagos airport during inward clearance of Ethiopian Airlines passengers from Brazil via Addis Ababa on Friday, Sept. 19.
He added that the suspect was subjected to a body scan which confirmed drug ingestion, and under observation, he expelled five large wraps of cocaine weighing 145 grams.
“In his statement, he confessed to have bought nine wraps of the class A drug in Brazil and inserted all into his anus, a process he claimed took him nearly two hours.
“During his transit through Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, he said he began to experience severe anal pain and decided to remove the wraps from his body.
“He stated that in an attempt to meet up with his connecting flight to Nigeria, he could only manage to reinsert seven wraps, after which he flushed the remaining two wraps in a toilet,” he said.
Babafemi added that the suspect revealed he felt uncomfortable on board the flight to Nigeria, which compelled him to use the lavatory.
According to him, the trafficker expelled an additional two wraps mid-flight, leaving him with only five wraps in his system. He further claimed he had been into the clothing business before traveling to Brazil in 2017.
“In 2020, he moved to the United States, where he was arrested for immigration offence and was detained for over a year before being deported to Nigeria in 2022.
“In March 2025, he returned to Brazil, where he currently works, having already obtained a Brazilian residence permit.” GMTNewsng
