Nigeria’s National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has arrested a 30-year-old man who swallowed 98 wraps of cocaine weighing 1.510 kilograms and separately seized 1.2 kilograms of cocaine hidden inside phone chargers at a Lagos courier firm in a series of drug busts across multiple states.
The suspect, identified as Joseph Cyril, was arrested at Enugu airport after operatives detected he had ingested the cocaine wraps. Cyril confessed he accepted the job, which paid €3,500, to raise funds to relocate his family to Germany.
NDLEA Chairman Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa praised the operatives who carried out the arrests and seizures, stating the agency would maintain enforcement efforts and continue public awareness campaigns on drug trafficking across Nigeria.
The cocaine hidden inside phone chargers was discovered at a courier firm in Lagos. Operatives found 1.2 kilograms of cocaine distributed across 25 phone chargers that were packaged and bound for Saudi Arabia before agents intercepted the consignment, preventing the drugs from leaving the country.
The Enugu airport arrest of Joseph Cyril followed the detection of 98 internally concealed cocaine wraps with a combined weight of 1.510 kilograms. Cyril disclosed to operatives that the €3,500 payment was his motivation, with the relocation of his family to Germany as his stated goal.
Marwa confirmed the agency‘s operational tempo would not slow down, praising each team involved in the multiple operations. He called on operatives to maintain vigilance and urged public awareness as a tool in the broader enforcement effort against drug trafficking networks operating inside and outside Nigeria.
Beyond the Lagos charger seizure and the Enugu airport arrest, NDLEA operatives also intercepted cannabis-infused cookies at Tincan Port in Lagos. The agency did not specify the weight of the cookies seized at the port during the operational period.
Across four states, NDLEA operatives seized over 2.9 tons of skunk, a high-potency variant of cannabis. The agency did not name the four states in the operational report but confirmed the combined skunk haul exceeded 2.9 tonnes in total weight across all locations.
In Badagry, operatives apprehended a wanted drug dealer found in possession of 88.5 kilograms of drugs. The arrest added to the string of enforcement actions carried out by the agency during this operational period across Lagos State and beyond.
Marwa praised the teams responsible for the Badagry arrest and the four-state skunk operation, noting that sustained enforcement remained central to the agency’s strategy. He called for continued diligence among operatives working across land borders, ports, and airports nationwide.
The cocaine seizure from phone chargers at the Lagos courier facility highlighted the use of everyday electronic devices to conceal narcotics bound for international destinations. The 25 chargers each contained cocaine, with the full consignment intended for delivery in Saudi Arabia.
Joseph Cyril’s arrest at Enugu airport added to a pattern of drug couriers intercepted at Nigerian airports by NDLEA operatives. Cyril’s confession that he swallowed 98 wraps of cocaine to earn €3,500 for a family relocation plan was disclosed to the agency following his arrest.
Tincan Port in Lagos was also the site of a separate seizure involving cannabis-infused cookies, extending the agency’s enforcement actions beyond airports and courier firms to cover seaport entry points during the same operational window.
The 2.9-tonne skunk haul across four states represented a significant volume of cannabis removed from circulation during the operational period. NDLEA confirmed the seizures and credited the result to coordinated operations by its teams working across multiple states simultaneously.
Marwa’s statement called for ongoing enforcement and public awareness, signaling the agency’s intent to sustain pressure on drug trafficking networks operating through Nigeria’s airports, seaports, land borders, and courier channels as part of its national drug control mandate to reduce the flow of narcotics into and out of the country.
