A 59-year-old businessman, Chijioke Nnanna Igbokwe, has undergone surgery to extract 57 out of 81 wraps of cocaine stuck in his stomach after seven days of ingesting the illicit substance in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Igbokwe was arrested by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) during the inward clearance of passengers on an Ethiopian Airlines flight on Sunday, January 26, 2025. A body scan conducted on him revealed the presence of illicit drugs in his system.

Upon his arrest, he was placed under excretion observation. Investigations showed that Igbokwe, who claimed to be a clothing trader at Arena, Oshodi, Lagos, departed Nigeria on January 22 for Addis Ababa. He ingested the 81 wraps of cocaine the following day, January 23, before boarding a flight to Beirut, Lebanon, where he was to deliver the consignment for a fee of $3,000.

However, upon arrival in Beirut, he was denied entry due to insufficient funds, as he had less than the required $2,000. He was subsequently deported to Addis Ababa, where he attempted to excrete the drugs but failed. He then proceeded to Lagos on January 25 with the drugs still in his system but was arrested upon arrival at MMIA by NDLEA officers.

Despite five days under excretion observation and initial medical intervention at NDLEA’s medical facility and Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), he only expelled 24 pellets. Due to complications and underlying medical conditions, he was admitted to a tertiary hospital, where he underwent exploratory laparotomy surgery on January 30 after his wife and brother signed the necessary consent forms. The surgery successfully extracted the remaining 57 wraps of cocaine, bringing the total weight of the recovered drugs to 1.943 kilograms.

In a separate operation, NDLEA operatives intercepted a consignment of 2,000 kilograms of Ghanaian Loud, a potent strain of cannabis, at Lekki Beach, Lagos, on January 29. Two suspects, Sunday Awoyede and Christopher Cletus, were caught attempting to load the shipment into a truck. The suspects, along with the drugs and the vehicle, were taken into custody.

Additionally, another suspect, Lawal Idris Olasunkanmi, was arrested the same day with 55 kilograms of skunk during a raid in Mushin, Lagos.

NDLEA commands across the country intensified their War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) campaign through sensitization lectures and advocacy visits to various institutions. The past week's activities included lectures at Grand Light Model School, Akwa Ibom; Community Grammar School, Oyo State; Ebute Afuye Primary School, Lagos; Akwakuma Girls Secondary School, Imo; and Federal Government College, Kebbe, Sokoto. The Kogi State command also paid a WADA advocacy visit to the Attah of Igala, HRH Mathew Opaluwa Oguche, in Idah.

Commending the MMIA Strategic Command for its vigilance, NDLEA Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), warned individuals involved in drug trafficking of the grave risks they face. He also praised the Lagos State Command for intercepting the massive skunk shipment and acknowledged the efforts of NDLEA personnel nationwide in sustaining drug prevention advocacy and enforcement.

The NDLEA continues its commitment to eradicating drug abuse and trafficking in Nigeria through strategic enforcement and public awareness campaigns.