NDLEA Arrests Fake Pregnant Woman, Seizes 82 Wraps of Cocaine
Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have foiled bizarre plots by two drug traffickers to move consignments of cocaine and opioids hidden in their stomach.
One of those arrested, 35-year-old Rabi Muhammad, was intercepted at the Seme border in Lagos state with a protruding tummy on Monday 16th February 2026 while attempting to cross to Cotonou in Benin Republic.
A full body search however revealed that the pregnancy was fake and her baby bump was designed with a pink coloured calabash used to conceal 3,200 capsules of tramadol, which she tied around her stomach and was taking to Cotonou to sell.
The other absurd case was that of 41-year-old Ivorian, Michael Gohouri alias Anunwa Onyinye Michael, arrested same day at the Malam Aminu Kano International Airport Kano during the outward clearance of passengers on an Ethiopian Airline to Milan, via Addis Ababa.
When he was taken for body scan, the result confirmed ingestion of illicit substances, and later excreted 82 wraps of cocaine weighing 1.49 kilograms.
Investigations revealed that Michael Gohouri arrived Lagos from Milan on 17th January, 2026 and was shuttling from Lagos to Enugu for three weeks.
He later travelled to Kano where he stayed for a week before ingesting the cocaine consignment in his hotel room, which he is to deliver in Milan and be paid 5,000 Euros.
The suspect who hails from Reu duce Avenue 13 Abidjan, Cote d’ivoire claims his father, Bade Gohouri is an Ivorian while his mother is from Anunwa compound, Urunnebo village Ukwan in Enugu State.
He applied for asylum in Italy in 2013 and obtained a resident permit which expires 25th May 2026 while he has a Nigerian National Identification Number with his name written as Anunwa Onyinye Michael.
Meanwhile, the NDLEA has arrested a suspected drug kingpin and Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Trans Fortress Global Resources, a notable real estate development firm, Kolapo Oladapo Raji.
Raji has been on NDLEA watchlist since 2025 following credible intelligence. The 57-year-old suspected drug kingpin was arrested at his Safe Court Apartment residence in Ikate, Lekki Lagos on Thursday 12th February 2026 following sustained surveillance after his return from the United Kingdom.
A search of his residence led to the recovery of four large bags containing parcels of Canadian Loud, a strong strain of cannabis with a total weight of 89.20kg. Also recovered from him at the point of his arrest was a 2024 model Toyota Hilux.
The NDLEA said in his statement, he claimed he got involved in the illicit drug trade after financing some consignments for his overseas associate. He said that the hundreds of millions of naira paid to him as profit by his associate motivated him to establish his own independent drug distribution channel.
In another interdiction operation in Lagos, a suspect, Ugwuja Kingsley was nabbed with 56kg skunk at Agbara on Thursday 19th February, while another suspect, Ekwe Arinze was caught with 76kg of same substance at a motor park in Oshodi on Tuesday 17th February.
At the Port Harcourt Ports Complex, Onne, Rivers state, a total of 170, 900 bottles of codeine-based syrup were discovered in a container during a joint examination of the shipment by NDLEA officers, Customs and other security agencies.
The request by NDLEA for a 100% physical examination and search of the container followed processed intelligence on the shipment.
Similarly, no fewer than 7,300 pills of tramadol 225mg concealed in two sound systems were recovered by NDLEA operatives on patrol along Okene/Lokoja highway in Kogi state during the search of a commuter bus coming from Lagos to Kano on Sunday 15th February.
A follow up operation in Zuba, Abuja on Tuesday 17th February led to the arrest of the two suspects linked to the consignment: Ezenma Kingsley, 26, and Ezeja Anthony, 29.
In Ondo state, a suspect Bright Timothy, 28, was arrested at Iju forest on Thursday 19th February with 195kg skunk and seeds while another suspect Godwin Bernard was nabbed with 198kg of same substance when NDLEA operatives raided their enclaves in the forest.
Also, a total of 936 kilograms of skunk were seized from a suspect, Yahaya Adamu Gimba, 48, when he was arrested at Azare town, Katagun LGA, Bauchi state on Tuesday 17th February, while 85.8kg of same substance was recovered from him and his accomplices Nasiru Suleman, 36; Abdul Umar, 25, and Musa Suleman, 21.
While 37kg skunk was seized from Mgbeme Ejeoma, 34, at Club Street, Ekeredjebor, Ughelli, Delta state on Tuesday 17th February, NDLEA officers in Edo state same day raided Etiosa camp in Owan West LGA where they destroyed 1,266.8475kg skunk on three farms. No less than 23kg of processed cannabis was equally recovered, with two suspects: a 68-year-old grandmother, Evelyn Ogenewu, and a 43-year-old, Friday Iruoje, apprehended.
