NDLEA Nabs Indian Woman Smuggling 72 Heroin-Laced “Chocolate” Parcels

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency {NDLEA} reports that it has found 72 packages of heroin wrapped in wafer wrap and disguised as chocolates in the possession of a 42-year-old Indian woman named Ms. Neetu Neetu at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport in Kano.

According to a statement issued by the agency’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, on Sunday, the consignment, weighing 11 kg, 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 organizations 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-liter 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 225 mg concealed inside.

Similarly, in Gunduwawa, Kano, officers arrested a 40-year-old suspect, Sunday Ogar, on Wednesday, with 27 kg 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 67.5 kg of skunk, while an additional 100.8 kg 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 4.5 kg of skunk, 600 grams of tramadol 225 mg, and 30 liters 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 sensitization programs in schools, markets, workplaces, and religious centers.

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 emphasized 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.