On the 1st of August, NDLEA operatives arrested a businesswoman, Mrs. Nwafor Roseann Nneka at her shop within the Trade Fair Complex, following the interception of 100 grams of cocaine and 300 grams of phenacetine, a cutting agent, concealed in ladies’ lipsticks going to Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, through the export shed of the Lagos airport on 10th July 2025.
Two cargo agents linked to the shipment were previously arrested before the eventual arrest of Nneka, who runs the criminal trade as a family business with her husband Remigus Nwafor, currently on the run.
In her statement, Mrs. Nwafor admitted she bought the lipsticks used to conceal the illicit drugs while her husband handled the actual concealment.
In a related bust, NDLEA operatives also intercepted cocaine and tramadol 225mg concealed inside 71 vehicle side mirrors at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos. The cargo, bound for Libreville, Gabon, led to the arrest of at least three other suspects.
The first batch, comprising 57,420 pills of tramadol 225mg and 57 pellets of cocaine weighing 1.60kg was discovered on July 19, 2025, in cargo booked via Air Côte d’Ivoire. A popular cargo agent, Ihekweme Osinachi Benedict, was arrested immediately. Subsequent investigations led to the arrest of another suspect, Uzochukwu Godspower Chukwurah, on July 20.
Further search of Uzochukwu’s residence on July 21 yielded 11 additional parcels of cocaine concealed in four side mirrors, bringing the total to 68 parcels weighing 2.60 kilograms.