The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) recently apprehended a 67-year-old Nigerian-British woman, Mary Yetunde Barek, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos. Barek, who is employed as a caregiver in the United Kingdom, was caught trying to board a Virgin Atlantic flight to London on June 28, 2026, with 13 kilograms of cocaine hidden inside imitation plantain peels.
In a separate case, Nwabueze Felix Onyeka, a 45-year-old doctoral candidate at the University of Putra, Malaysia, was arrested in Anambra State. He is accused of leading a trafficking syndicate that attempted to ship 5.8 kilograms of cocaine to Kuala Lumpur inside cartons of Orijin Bitters. Four other individuals linked to the shipment were also taken into custody in Lagos.
Additional enforcement operations were conducted nationwide. In Taraba State, Daniel Harrison Ugwuoke was detained on July 4 with over 43,000 capsules of Tramadol discovered within his vehicle’s fuel tank. Drug raids in Kaduna resulted in the arrest of Boniface Agu and Monday Nwaeze for methamphetamine possession. Further seizures included 231.7 kilograms of skunk in Ebonyi State involving Francis Ifara Eja, and 15 kilograms of skunk seized from 75-year-old Alhaji Babani in Plateau State. Furthermore, Dahiru Mohammed and Isiya Lawan were caught in Gombe with 556 kilograms of cannabis.
Beyond enforcement, the agency continues its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) initiative through educational outreach programs. NDLEA Chairman Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.) praised the various commands for their successful operations and encouraged them to maintain momentum in both drug supply reduction and community prevention efforts.
