NDLEA Arrests Indian Woman Smuggling 72 Parcels Of Heroin In Chocolate Wrappers
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a 42-year-old Indian woman, Ms. Neetu Neetu, at Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano, with 72 parcels of heroin concealed in chocolate wafer wrappers.
A statement by the agency’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, on Sunday, confirmed that the consignment, weighing 11kg, was found in Neetu’s luggage during a search at the airport’s arrival hall.
The operation, based on credible intelligence, was conducted during the inward clearance of Qatar Airways flight QR1431 from Bangkok, Thailand, through Vietnam and Doha, on March 14, 2025.
Reacting to the development, NDLEA Chairman, Brig Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), raised concerns over drug cartels increasingly using foreign nationals, including white women, to smuggle illicit substances through Nigerian borders.
He commended the agency’s operatives for remaining vigilant and leveraging modern technology and intelligence to intercept such shipments.
In another operation in Kano, NDLEA officers arrested a 45-year-old suspect, Michael Ogundele, with a 50-litre steel gas cylinder along the Zaria-Kano road.
Upon cutting it open, officers found 50,000 pills of tramadol 225mg hidden inside.
Another suspect, Sunday Ogar, 40, was arrested in Gunduwawa with 27kg of skunk, while a woman, Khadijah Abdullahi, 40, was caught in Lungun Bulala Yalwa with 424 bottles of codeine-based syrup.
In Lagos, NDLEA operatives arrested Olumuyiwa Kolawole and Samod Adisa in Mushin with 67.5kg of skunk.
Another operation led to the seizure of 100.8kg of the same substance from a store in Anifowoshe belonging to two fleeing suspects.
In Apapa, officers arrested Isah Idris with 4.5kg of skunk, 600 grams of tramadol 225mg, and 30 litres of codeine syrup.
That same day, Yahaya Mohamed was caught in Ikotun with various quantities of cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine.
Beyond enforcement, NDLEA has continued its War Against Drug Abuse advocacy, organising sensitisation programmes in schools, markets, workplaces, and religious centres nationwide.
Recently, awareness campaigns were held in schools such as Chrisland School, Ikeja, Lagos; Marist Comprehensive College, Nteje, Anambra State; and Government Day Secondary Schools in Sokoto and Adamawa states.
Commending NDLEA officers in MAKIA, Lagos, and Kano, Marwa reiterated the agency’s commitment to tackling drug trafficking and abuse.
He urged operatives to remain relentless in their efforts to curb both the supply and demand for illicit drugs across the country.
Titilope Adako is a talented and intrepid journalist, dedicated to shedding light on the untold stories of Osun State and Nigeria. Through incisive reporting, she tackles a broad spectrum of topics, from politics and social justice to culture and entertainment, with a commitment to accuracy, empathy, and inspiring positive change.
