NDLEA arrests two Europe-based Nigerians with 200 cocaine pellets at Abuja airport

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested two Nigerians residing in Europe after they allegedly swallowed 200 wraps of cocaine weighing 3.46 kilogrammes in an attempt to smuggle the illicit substance from Abuja to Paris, France.

The suspects, identified as Aliocus Godian Odife and Sam Blackborn, were apprehended on Wednesday, October 28, 2026, during the outward clearance of an Air France flight, AF 832, at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.

The agency said the arrests followed body scans conducted on the two passengers, which revealed foreign objects suspected to be illicit drugs in their stomachs.

In a statement issued on Sunday, NDLEA spokesman, Femi Babafemi, disclosed that the suspects had returned to Nigeria for holidays before allegedly attempting to transport the cocaine to Europe.

According to the statement, Odife, who reportedly lives in France and works in a factory, arrived in Nigeria on October 21 for a short visit.

He was intercepted while preparing to board his return flight after a body scan confirmed the presence of foreign objects in his stomach.

The statement partly read, “Two Europe-based Nigerian ‘businessmen’ who flew home on holiday and attempted to return to Paris, France with their bellies loaded with cocaine have been arrested by operatives of the NDLEA at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.

“The duo, Aliocus Godian Odife and Sam Blackborn, were intercepted on Wednesday, 28th October 2026, during the outward clearance of Air France flight AF 832 from Abuja to Paris. Both men have excreted a total of 200 wraps of the Class A drug weighing 3.460 kilogrammes.

“Odife, who claims to live in France where he works in a factory, had arrived in Nigeria for a short holiday on 21st October.

“He was, however, arrested by NDLEA operatives on his return flight a few days later, when he was subjected to a body scan, which confirmed the presence of foreign objects in his stomach.

“Under interview, he admitted to having ingested 110 pellets of cocaine. He was placed under observation during which he excreted all 110 wraps, which tested positive for cocaine with a total weight of 1.901 kilogrammes.”

Babafemi said the second suspect, Blackborn, also tested positive for illicit substances during a body scan and subsequently admitted to ingesting 90 wraps of cocaine.

He disclosed that the suspect excreted all the wraps under medical observation, with the recovered drugs weighing 1.559 kilogrammes.

Beyond the airport arrests, the NDLEA spokesman disclosed that operatives of the agency recorded several drug seizures and arrests in different parts of the country.

In Lagos, operatives recovered 976 kilogrammes of cannabis from two commercial buses.

In Oyo State, two men, Oguntona Nasiru, 46, and Soji Balogun, 47, were arrested on Thursday, October 29, while allegedly loading 554 kilogrammes of cannabis into a truck along Idere Road in Igboora.

Similarly, a raid in the Tsamiya area of Gezawa, Kano State, led to the recovery of 247,500 tablets of diazepam weighing 57.7 kilogrammes and 100,000 tablets of Exol-5 weighing 38.7 kilogrammes.

The agency also arrested two suspects in Dorayi, Kano, with 19,250 tablets of tramadol.

In another operation, NDLEA operatives patrolling the Abuja-Kaduna Expressway arrested a woman, Aisha Isah, with 266 rounds of live AK-47 ammunition.

On the Zaria-Kano Expressway, operatives apprehended a 68-year-old man, Ifeanyi Egwolonwu, with 2,770 ampoules of pentazocine injection, 100 ampoules of diazepam injection, 11,000 tablets of diazepam and 4,500 tablets of Exol-5.

Reacting to the arrests, the NDLEA Chairman, Brig.-Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), warned Nigerians living abroad against exploiting their overseas residence to engage in drug trafficking.

Marwa said, “The interception of the two cocaine couriers at Abuja airport is a fresh warning to those who think they can use their residence abroad as cover to traffic drugs across Nigerian borders.”

He added that NDLEA operatives at all entry and exit points remained vigilant.

“There is no hiding place for anyone who chooses to risk their life and liberty by ingesting illicit drugs for a fee,” he said.