A 25-year-old newlywed businessman, Lovely Chukwulobelu, has been arrested by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu, over an alleged attempt to traffic 72 wraps of cocaine to Portugal.
Chukwulobelu, who reportedly resides in Portugal, was intercepted by NDLEA operatives at the airport’s departure hall on Thursday, September 25, while allegedly preparing to board an Ethiopian Airlines flight to Portugal via Addis Ababa.
According to the NDLEA, the suspect had the cocaine concealed in his stomach and was still wearing his wedding ring when he was arrested.
The agency said he was subsequently placed under excretion observation, during which he egested 72 wraps of cocaine, described as a Class A illicit drug.
The NDLEA Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, disclosed the arrest in a statement issued on Sunday.
The agency alleged that the suspect turned to drug trafficking to offset expenses incurred during his wedding ceremony, which was held on September 13, 2026.
The statement partly read:
” The groom was intercepted by NDLEA officers at the departure hall of the Enugu airport on Thursday, 25th September 2026, with cocaine in his gut and a wedding ring on his finger, while he attempted to board an Ethiopian Airlines flight to Portugal via Addis Ababa. He was subsequently placed under excretion observation during which he egested a total of 72 wraps of the Class A illicit drug.
“The suspect, who claimed he was into the car decoration business at the Trade Fair Complex, Ojo area of Lagos before he relocated to Portugal in May 2023, said he returned to Nigeria recently to get married on 13th September 2026.
He said he resorted to the criminal trade to offset expenses incurred during his wedding.”
The NDLEA also reported several other drug seizures and arrests across the country.
At the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, operatives recovered 2,550,000 pills of Tramakings 225mg and 250mg, as well as Royal Tapentadol 250mg. The drugs, weighing 1,640.55kg, were reportedly discovered during a joint examination of three consignments imported from India and Bangladesh through Qatar Airways, RwandAir and Ethiopian Airlines.
In Bauchi State, two suspects, Umar Hamidu, 35, and Abdulkarim Salihu, 45, were arrested with 300 compressed blocks of skunk weighing 262.5kg.
The NDLEA said the cannabis was concealed in the false bottom of a truck marked MUB757 YH along the Maiduguri bypass.
In Edo State, two cannabis farms with a combined estimated yield of 1,360.23kg were also destroyed at Eko Camp, Ilushi, by NDLEA officers supported by soldiers.
Meanwhile, two women, Odumabo Kehinde, 36, and Obiekwe Chioma, 40, were arrested at Anifowoshe Street, Mushin, Lagos, with 3.4kg of skunk.
Another suspect, Ugwu Johnson, 58, was intercepted at Ebute-Ero motor park with 5.920kg of skunk, 2,400 ampoules of pentazocine injection, 8,400 tablets of nitrazepam and 40,000 pills of tramadol.
In Oyo State, two Togolese nationals, Yinusa Abdulsamad, 35, and Fatai Baba, 33, were arrested along the Iganna-Ilero road with 305.6kg of skunk allegedly concealed in two pickup vans.
According to Babafemi, the suspects were allegedly involved in a cross-border trafficking operation moving Ghanaian-sourced cannabis into Nigeria through the Oyo axis.
At the Seme border in Badagry, Lagos, five suspects were also arrested with 420 cartons of nitrous oxide, popularly known as laughing gas, weighing 1,688.4kg.
The suspects were identified as Kingsley John, 40; John Okeke, 44; Lamidi Ismaila, 40; Babatunde Samuel, 42; and Afeesu Idowu, 47. Two vehicles allegedly used to convey the consignment from the border into Lagos were also seized.
NDLEA Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), commended officers and men involved in the operations and urged them to sustain the agency’s ongoing approach to drug control efforts across the country.
