A 50-year-old widow and fashion designer, Mrs. Ifeoma Henrietta Ezewuike, has been arrested after operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) intercepted drugs hidden in kitchen sinks and destroyed 75,000kg of skunk across several states.
According to a statement by NDLEA’s spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, the widow was apprehended in Lagos while attempting to smuggle 1.3 kilograms of cocaine, disguising herself with a fake pregnancy to evade detection.
The mother of one, who runs Golden Star Creation, a fashion business along Ago Palace Way in Okota, Lagos, was nabbed at a bus terminal in Jibowu, Yaba, on Friday, 22nd August 2025, while trying to deliver the cocaine consignment to clients in Abuja.
A follow-up search at her residence in Ago Palace led to the recovery of 200 grams of a cutting agent used in producing a cocaine variant. Ezewuike revealed in her statement that she inherited the illegal trade from her late husband, who died two years ago, despite managing her fashion business for over 20 years.
In a separate operation, 90 parcels of Loud, a potent strain of cannabis weighing 48.6kg and smuggled from the United States, were seized by NDLEA officers of the Directorate of Operation and General Investigation (DOGI). The drugs had been cleverly concealed inside three cartons of kitchen sinks and intercepted at a Lagos courier company on Tuesday, 19th August.
Elsewhere in Adamawa, NDLEA operatives, acting on credible intelligence, raided the residence of a notorious drug dealer, Idris Garba, on Friday, 22nd August. Garba escaped by scaling a fence, but his associate, Boniface Nnaji, 55, was arrested in Rumde Baru, Yola South, while attempting to flee.
Recovered items included a black Toyota Thundra Jeep (FST-885-CZ), which Nnaji drove to Yola to deliver 354,480 tramadol pills, a Toyota Yaris (DSA 776 AA), and other controlled substances.
Similarly, NDLEA officers seized 5,000 tramadol capsules, 400 pentazocine ampoules, and 200 diazepam ampoules from suspect Neche Okonkwo at Idah waterside on Wednesday, 20th August, after crossing the River Niger from Onitsha, Anambra, into Lokoja, Kogi State.
In Kano, suspects Buhari Ibrahim, 25, and Mansur Musa, 24, were arrested at Zangon Dakata Ungogo on Tuesday, 19th August, with 5,850 pregabaline capsules. Additionally, 452,070 opioid pills were recovered from the home of an at-large suspect, Rabilu Mukhtar, in Rangaza, Ungogo LGA. That same day, Buhari Idris, 35, was caught at Tashan Rami with 140 litres of codeine syrup, while 7,000 tramadol capsules were seized from Adamu Yusuf, 29, along Zaria-Kano Road on Saturday, 23rd August.
NDLEA operatives also intercepted 2,289.49kg of skunk during three operations in Kwara State. Of this, 1,232.86kg was recovered from a Mitsubishi Canter truck (ZUR 66 XT) on Wednesday, 20th August, at Ajase-Ipo, leading to the arrest of Kabiru Abdullahi. Another 328.42kg consignment was seized from Paul Olaniran, 47, in a Mercedes Benz truck (LSD 659 YE) the same day and location.
The following day, Thursday, 21st August, officers intercepted an additional 728.21kg of skunk in a Mitsubishi Canter (GAD 287 XA) at Ajase-Ipo Junction, Ifelodun LGA, arresting suspects Abubakar Zaki, 44, and Yau Babangida, 45. In Ekiti State, Awe Sunday, 50, and Ayodele Adedayo, 54, were also apprehended at Alafia Quarters, Ikere-Ekiti, linked to the seizure of 96kg of skunk.
In Taraba, NDLEA operatives, alongside Civil Defence Corps personnel, destroyed 7,500kg of skunk on three hectares of farmland at Dadin Kowa Village, Bali LGA, on Wednesday, 20th August. A separate raid at a warehouse in Uzebba, Owan West LGA, Edo State, led to the arrest of 54-year-old Fodo Stella Sunday and the recovery of 901kg of skunk on Tuesday, 19th August.
Further operations in Edo uncovered 14,233.37kg of skunk, which was destroyed across four plantations spanning 5.69375 hectares at Ebule Forest, Owan West LGA, on Wednesday, 20th August.
In Delta State, NDLEA, supported by the military, destroyed 25,500kg of skunk on four plantations covering 10.2 hectares in Emu-Obiogu, Ndokwa West LGA, on Thursday, 21st August. In Ondo State, another 25,025kg was destroyed across three farms measuring 10.01 hectares at Asolo Camp, Uso area.
Meanwhile, NDLEA officers arrested two dispatch riders during a stop-and-search operation in Jabi, Abuja, on Thursday, 21st August, for distributing illicit substances in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). Garba Sule, 29, was caught with 300 milligrams of pentazocine injection, while Isaac Augustine, 35, was arrested with 8.64 grams of skunk packaged for delivery.
