Brazil Returnee Arrested as Nigeria Intensifies Nationwide Anti-Drug Operations

Nigeria’s National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a Nigerian businessman arriving from Brazil after uncovering cocaine concealed on his body and inside his footwear, as part of a series of coordinated anti-drug operations across the country.

The suspect, identified as 47-year-old Uche Franklin Onyekwere, was apprehended on 29 January 2026 at the arrival terminal of Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos. NDLEA officials said he arrived on a South African Airways flight from Brazil via Johannesburg and was intercepted following intelligence-led profiling.

A body scan confirmed the presence of concealed substances, prompting a search that uncovered a large parcel of cocaine strapped to his thigh, along with two additional wraps hidden in the soles of his shoes. The total weight of the recovered cocaine was 1.6 kilograms.

During questioning, Onyekwere reportedly admitted purchasing the drugs in Brazil with plans to sell them in Nigeria to raise capital for his business and help fund the naming ceremony of his newborn child. Authorities said he has lived in São Paulo since 2008 and operates a toy business.

In a separate operation at the Tin Can Island Port in Lagos, NDLEA officers, working with customs officials and other security agencies, intercepted a container imported from Canada containing 55 jumbo bags of high-potency cannabis, commonly known as “Loud.” The drugs, weighing approximately 1,183 kilograms, were concealed inside two vehicles;  a Hyundai SUV and a Toyota Matrix.

Meanwhile, further seizures were recorded across Southern and Northern Nigeria. In Niger State, officers intercepted a truck along the Abuja-Dei-Dei expressway carrying 176 bags of cannabis, weighing 2,735 kilograms, along with one kilogram of synthetic cannabis. Three suspects were arrested. Investigators said the drugs were loaded in Edo State after the vehicle initially transported flour from Lagos.

In Edo State, additional operations led to the arrest of multiple suspects and the destruction of a large cannabis farm spanning more than 1.6 hectares. Over four tonnes of cannabis plants were destroyed, while processed drugs and seeds were recovered.

In Anambra State, where cannabis was hidden beneath bags of cement in a commercial truck, and in Ondo State, where officers recovered nearly 500 kilograms of cannabis during a community raid.

In Kano State, NDLEA officers arrested a suspect in possession of 12,500 ampoules of pentazocine, a controlled opioid painkiller, while another suspect was found with over 4,300 tramadol tablets.

Additional arrests were made in Lagos and at the Seme border with Benin, where smaller quantities of cannabis were discovered concealed in luggage, sound equipment, and packaged food items.