Ugandan Woman Arrested at Lagos Airport with 87 Cocaine Wraps Concealed in Private Part

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a 34 year old Ugandan woman, Farida Nansubuga, after recovering 87 wraps of cocaine weighing 1.150 kilogrammes from around her pelvic region. She was intercepted on Tuesday 3 November 2026 at the screening point of Terminal 2 at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos, while preparing to board a flight to Uganda.

Nansubuga arrived in Nigeria on 29 October 2026 with members of her church for a prayer session at the Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN) in the Ikotun Egbe area of Lagos. The other members of the delegation returned to Uganda after the programme, but she remained behind. According to the agency, she stayed to collect the consignment on behalf of a friend identified as Joy, who lives in Uganda. A contact in Nigeria arranged a vehicle that took her to a hotel on the morning of her departure, where a man handed her the cocaine and instructed her to conceal it beneath her clothing to avoid detection.

During a joint passenger screening exercise involving NDLEA operatives and aviation security personnel, a body search indicated a suspicious substance around her pelvic region. Officers moved her to a designated private search room, where the 87 wraps were recovered strapped around the area and held in place beneath two layers of underwear. She told investigators that no fixed fee had been agreed, but she expected to receive at least 1,000 United States dollars upon successful delivery.

In related operations, NDLEA officers at a checkpoint in Lankaviri, Yorro Local Government Area of Taraba State, arrested three suspects with a total of 283 blocks of compressed cannabis weighing 226.255 kilogrammes over two days. Ibrahim Abdullahi, 45, was arrested on 5 November with 156 blocks weighing 149.275 kilogrammes. Kabiru Usman, 25, was arrested the same day with 80 blocks weighing 40.07 kilogrammes. Babangida Babayo, 32, was arrested on 6 November with 47 blocks weighing 36.91 kilogrammes.

In Enugu State, Celestine Uzochukwu Ejiakor, 57, was arrested on 3 November at a checkpoint in Eke Obinagu with 44 blocks of cannabis weighing 22.5 kilogrammes. At the Ugwuoba checkpoint, officers arrested Godwin Shaapera, 40, with 24,000 capsules of Tramadol weighing 13.3 kilogrammes and 697 grammes of ketamine.

In Delta State, Edugua Othuke, 30, was arrested on 31 October 2026 in Ozoro, Isoko North, with 10.54 kilogrammes of skunk, 9.4 kilogrammes of cannabis seeds and 4.3 grammes of methamphetamine. Akpofure Tobore, 34, was arrested on 4 November at Upper Agbarho in the Ughelli area with quantities of skunk, tramadol, rohypnol and laughing gas.

Commands across the country also continued War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation activities in schools, worship centres, workplaces and communities. These included lectures at St Andrew Basic School in Oyo town, Government Technical College in Abakaliki, Sa’ad College in Kano and Inland Girls Secondary School in Onitsha. The Zone 1 Command paid an advocacy visit to the Emir of Bauchi, HRH Alhaji Rilwanu Sulaiman Adamu.

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA, Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa (retired), described the case of the Ugandan woman as a sad reminder that drug cartels will stop at nothing, including exploiting faith and religious travel, to recruit couriers. He urged officers across all commands to sustain the tempo of their supply and demand reduction efforts.

By A.Ikechukwu

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