NDLEA arrests two Europe-bound Nigerians with 200 cocaine wraps

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has arrested two Nigerians based in Europe after they allegedly ingested 200 wraps of cocaine weighing 3.46Kg while attempting to travel from Abuja to Paris, France.

The suspects, identified as Aliocus Odife and Sam Blackborn, were arrested on Wednesday, October 28, during the outward clearance of an Air France flight, AF 832, at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.

The NDLEA, in a statement on Sunday by its spokesman, Femi Babafemi, said the suspects, who had returned to Nigeria for holidays, were arrested after body scans confirmed that they had ingested illicit substances.

Babafemi said Odife, who lives in France and works in a factory, arrived in Nigeria on October 21 for a short holiday but was arrested while attempting to return to Europe.

He said he confessed to ingesting 110 wraps of cocaine, which he subsequently excreted under observation. The drugs weighed 1.901kg.

The statement partly read,  “Two Europe-based Nigerian ‘businessmen’ who flew home on holiday and attempted to return to Paris, France with their bellies loaded with cocaine have been arrested by operatives of the  NDLEA at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.

“The duo, Aliocus Godian Odife and Sam Blackborn, were intercepted on Wednesday, 28th October 2026, during the outward clearance of Air France flight AF 832 from Abuja to Paris. Both men have excreted a total of 200 wraps of the Class A drug weighing 3.460 kilogrammes.

“Odife, who claims to live in France where he works in a factory, had arrived in Nigeria for a short holiday on 21st October.

“He was, however, arrested by NDLEA operatives on his return flight a few days later, when he was subjected to a body scan, which confirmed the presence of foreign objects in his stomach.

“Under interview, he admitted to having ingested 110 pellets of cocaine. He was placed under observation during which he excreted all 110 wraps, which tested positive for cocaine with a total weight of 1.901 kilogrammes.”

Babafemi said his co-traveller, Blackborn, also tested positive during a body scan and confessed to swallowing 90 wraps of cocaine.

According to the agency, he excreted all the wraps under observation, with the substances weighing 1.559kg.

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The NDLEA also reported several drug seizures and arrests across the country, including the recovery of 976kg of cannabis from two commercial buses in Lagos.

In Oyo State, two suspects, Oguntona Nasiru, 46, and Soji Balogun, 47, were arrested on Thursday, October 29, while allegedly loading 554kg of cannabis into a truck along Idere Road, Igboora.

In Kano State, operatives recovered 247,500 tablets of diazepam weighing 57.7kg and 100,000 tablets of Exol-5 weighing 38.7kg during a raid in the Tsamiya area of Gezawa.

The agency also arrested two men with 19,250 pills of tramadol in Dorayi, Kano.

Meanwhile, NDLEA operatives on patrol along the Abuja-Kaduna Expressway arrested a woman, Aisha Isah, with 266 rounds of live AK-47 ammunition.

In another operation along the Zaria-Kano Expressway, a 68-year-old man, Ifeanyi Egwolonwu, was arrested with 2,770 ampoules of pentazocine injection, 100 ampoules of diazepam injection, 11,000 tablets of diazepam and 4,500 tablets of Exol-5.

In the statement, Babafemi quoted the agency’s Chairman, Brig-Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), as warning Nigerians living abroad against using their overseas residence as cover for drug trafficking.

Marwa said, “The interception of the two cocaine couriers at Abuja airport is a fresh warning to those who think they can use their residence abroad as cover to traffic drugs across Nigerian borders.”

He added that NDLEA operatives at all entry and exit points remained vigilant.

“There is no hiding place for anyone who chooses to risk their life and liberty by ingesting illicit drugs for a fee,” he said.

The NDLEA chairman commended officers of the agency’s commands in Abuja, Lagos, Kano, Kaduna, Sokoto, Ondo, Oyo and Edo states for the arrests and seizures.

He also urged officers to sustain the fight against drug trafficking and intensify drug demand reduction campaigns under the War Against Drug Abuse initiative.