The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has apprehended two individuals attempting to smuggle heroin into Nigeria through the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos and the Port Harcourt International Airport. The suspects excreted a combined total of 125 wraps of heroin after being placed under observation.

One of the suspects, 30-year-old Onyekwonike Elochuckwu Sylvanus, who also holds a Sierra Leonean passport under the alias Kargbo Mohamed Foday, was intercepted on February 2, 2025, at the Port Harcourt airport during the inward clearance of passengers on a Qatar Airways flight from Doha via Abuja. A body scan confirmed he had ingested illicit drugs, leading to his placement under excretion observation. He subsequently expelled 62 wraps of heroin weighing 1.348 kilograms over five excretions. Investigations revealed that Sylvanus has been involved in drug trafficking across Thailand, Pakistan, Iran, and West African countries since 2017, after his clothing and shoe business collapsed. 

The second suspect, 48-year-old James Herbert Chinoso, was arrested on February 1, 2025, at the Lagos airport upon arrival from Madagascar via Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on an Ethiopian Airlines flight. After a body scan confirmed the presence of illicit drugs in his system, he was placed under excretion observation and expelled 63 wraps of heroin totaling 909 grams. Chinoso had traveled to Madagascar on January 26, 2025, and returned a week later. He claimed to have turned to drug trafficking after his phone accessories business in Liberia failed. 

In addition to these arrests, NDLEA operatives intercepted two parcels containing 2.82 kilograms of Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis imported from the United States and destined for Lagos. The parcels were seized at a courier firm in Lagos on February 6, 2025. In a separate operation the same day, anti-narcotics officers intercepted 80 ampoules of pentazocine injection (225 grams) concealed in cartons heading to Canada at a different logistics company in Lagos. 

These operations highlight the NDLEA's ongoing efforts to combat drug trafficking and abuse within Nigeria.