NDLEA arrests Indian woman with 72 parcels of heroin packaged as chocolate

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency says it has intercepted a 42-year-old Indian woman, Ms. Neetu Neetu, at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano, with 72 parcels of heroin concealed in wafer wraps and packaged as chocolates.

According to a statement issued by the agency’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, on Sunday, the consignment, weighing 11kg, was seized from Neetu’s luggage after a search at the arrival hall of the airport.

The operation, based on credible intelligence, took place during the inward clearance of Qatar Airways flight QR1431 from Bangkok, Thailand, via Vietnam and Doha, on March 14, 2025.

Reacting to the arrest, NDLEA Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Brig Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), highlighted a disturbing trend of drug cartels hiring foreign nationals, including white women, to traffic illicit substances through Nigerian borders.

“This growing tactic by drug trafficking organisations has consistently been frustrated by our vigilant officers with the aid of modern technological tools and proactive intelligence,” Marwa stated.

Major Seizures in Kano, Lagos

In another successful operation in Kano, NDLEA operatives arrested a 45-year-old suspect, Michael Ogundele, on Thursday, with a 50-litre steel gas cylinder at Gadar Tamburawa, along the Zaria-Kano road.

After welding tools were used to cut open the cylinder, officers discovered and extracted 50,000 pills of tramadol 225mg concealed inside.

Similarly, in Gunduwawa, Kano, officers arrested a 40-year-old suspect, Sunday Ogar, on Wednesday, with 27kg of skunk, a potent strain of cannabis.

A female suspect, Khadijah Abdullahi, 40, was also apprehended at Lungun Bulala Yalwa on Tuesday in possession of 424 bottles of codeine-based syrup.

In Lagos, NDLEA officers arrested Olumuyiwa Kolawole and Samod Adisa in Mushin with 67.5kg of skunk, while an additional 100.8kg of the same psychoactive substance was recovered from the store of two fleeing suspects in Anifowoshe, Mushin.

Another suspect, Isah Idris, was arrested in Apapa on Tuesday,with 4.5kg of skunk, 600 grams of tramadol 225mg, and 30 litres of codeine syrup.

That same day, Yahaya Mohamed was apprehended in Ikotun with different quantities of cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine.

The statement obtained from the NDLEA website disclosed these.

Nationwide Anti-Drug Awareness Campaigns

Beyond enforcement, NDLEA formations across the country have intensified their War Against Drug Abuse advocacy, conducting sensitisation programmes in schools, markets, workplaces, and religious centres.

Recent activities include lectures at Chrisland School, Ikeja, Lagos; Hakimi Secondary School, Mokwa, Niger State; Marist Comprehensive College, Nteje, Anambra State; Ikole City College, Ikole Ekiti, Ekiti State; Government Day Secondary School, Sunane, Sokoto State; and Government Day Secondary School, Jada, Adamawa State.

Commending the NDLEA officers in MAKIA, Lagos, and Kano Commands for their relentless efforts, Marwa emphasised the agency’s dual focus on drug supply and demand reduction.

“Our operatives must not relent in ensuring a balanced and sustained fight against drug abuse and trafficking nationwide,” he urged.