Ugandan woman in Nigeria for church crusade arrested with 87 cocaine wraps

…Intercepts UK, Australia-bound illicit drugs concealed in female head wears

…Recovers multi-billion-naira Opioids, Loud in drug raids across states

By: Kingsley Omonobi

Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency have arrested a Ugandan woman who arrived the country for church crusade but turned out to be a courier when she was to return back with 87 wraps of Cocaine found hidden in her private part.

According to the agency, “34-year-old Ugandan, Ms. Farida Nansubuga, came to Nigeria with members of her church for spiritual renewal at a prayer session in Lagos. But when it was time to go home, she chose a different path.

“While the rest of her delegation flew back to Uganda, she stayed behind, not to pray some more, but to pick up a consignment of cocaine, which she hid in her private part in a bid to smuggle it into her country.

“Her plan, however, came crashing down at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos, on Tuesday 3rd November 2026, when operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) intercepted her at the screening point of Terminal 2 during a joint passenger screening exercise with aviation security personnel.

“She was due to board a Ugandan airline flight to her home country.

“A body search on her pointed to a substance concealed around her pelvic region, after which she was taken to a designated private search room for a secondary search.

“This led to the recovery of eighty-seven (87) wraps of cocaine with a gross weight of 1.150 kilograms, strapped around her pelvic region and held in place beneath two layers of underwear.

“During preliminary interview, the suspect, said she arrived in Nigeria on 29th October 2026 with members of her church for a prayer session at The Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN), Ikotun Egbe area of Lagos.

“She claimed that after the prayer session, the other members of her delegation returned to Uganda while she stayed back to collect the illicit consignment on behalf of a friend, simply identified as Joy, who resides in Uganda.

According to her, Joy directed her to a contact in Nigeria who arranged a vehicle to bring her to a hotel on the morning of her scheduled departure.

“It was there, she said, that the man handed her the drug and instructed her to hide it beneath her clothing to beat security screening at the airport.

“She claimed no definite fee was agreed for the trip, but that she expected to be paid not less than US$1,000 on successful delivery.

In another interception at the Lagos airport, NDLEA operatives on Friday 6th November uncovered 750,000 tablets of Tapentadol 250mg, weighing 526 kilograms with a street value of N900 million, in a consignment from India declared as Paracetamol Tablets 500mg.

The consignment, made up of eleven cartons packed in two wooden structures, arrived at the import shed of the airport on Tuesday 3rd November aboard an Ethiopian Airlines flight from Ahmedabad, India.

Suspicious of the declaration, NDLEA officers placed the cargo under surveillance until a joint examination with officers of the Nigeria Customs Service and other sister agencies on Friday.

The opioid pills were found in ten of the eleven cartons, while only the last carton contained paracetamol tablets as cover.

Also at the import shed of the airport, NDLEA operatives on Wednesday 4th November intercepted 32 parcels of Loud, a strain of cannabis, weighing 16.15 kilograms, concealed inside two wooden sofas in a consolidated cargo that arrived from Houston, Texas, United States aboard a Turkish Airlines flight.

A freight agent, Ibrahim Abdulwaheed Adewale, who came forward to clear the consignment was taken into custody.

In a follow-up operation on Friday 6th November, a 34-year-old caterer from Ibadan, Oyo state, Adeoye Sarafa Ojo, walked in to collect the package was arrested. Adeoye claimed he was sent by a friend, Taiwo Anuoluwapo Olusegun.

Similarly, NDLEA said a syndicate importing chemicals used in the production of Colorado, a synthetic cannabis, from the United Kingdom has come under the NDLEA hammer, following the interception of nine parcels of illicit substances hidden in two cartons of snacks tagged “Michael Tea Guy” in a consolidated cargo that arrived aboard an Air Peace flight from the UK on Friday 23rd October.

Two of the parcels contained 1.20 kilograms of cannabis, while forensic analysis of the other seven parcels confirmed them to be chemicals used in making synthetic cannabis.

A 51-year-old freight agent, Afolabi Abiodun Wale, who came to clear the consignment was arrested, while two more cartons for the same recipient later arrived from the UK aboard an Allied Air flight.

A sting operation conducted between Monday 26th and Wednesday 28th October led to the arrest of Okwuite Benjamin Ojone, 51, when he took delivery of the four cartons.

A search of the two additional cartons revealed three parcels concealed in two packs of detergent, weighing 3.30 kilograms, and eleven plastic bottles of mostly liquid substances weighing 16.25 kilograms, bringing the total seizure to 1.20kg of cannabis and 28.65kg of synthetic cannabis chemicals.

At courier companies in Lagos, NDLEA operatives on Tuesday 3rd November intercepted 46 blocks of cannabis weighing 22.2 kilograms packed in two cartons going to the United Kingdom.

Earlier, on Friday 30th October, they had intercepted 296 tablets of Swinol going to Australia from Lagos, as well as three shipments of tramadol going to the UK: 20 capsules from Benin City and 96 capsules from Sapele, Delta state, both concealed in vitamin C containers, and 600 tablets of Tramadol 225mg from Asaba hidden in female head wears.

In Lagos, NDLEA operatives on Friday 6th November arrested a 32-year-old man, Abubakar Ali, at Marine Beach area of Apapa, where a stash of drugs was recovered from a small store he built inside the sitting room of his apartment. Items recovered include 1.06kg of Tramadol 250mg; 1.27kg of Tramadol 225mg; 400g of pregabalin capsules; 355g of diazepam; 200ml of codeine and 6.07kg of cannabis.

In Ondo state, NDLEA operatives on Friday 6th November raided Odofin Road, Uso, where they recovered 148 bags of cannabis weighing 1,818 kilograms. Earlier same day, officers raided a cannabis farm in Board Forest, where they destroyed one hectare of cannabis plantation, recovered 242 kilograms of the drug and arrested a 36-year-old suspect, Itoro Linus Akpan.

In neighbouring Ekiti state, a 53-year-old man, Agbo Paul Peter, was arrested at Osin Forest, Osin Ekiti, on Thursday 5th November with 216 kilograms of cannabis and cannabis seeds.

In Edo state, NDLEA operatives on Friday 6th November intercepted a Golf saloon car loaded with nineteen bags of cannabis weighing 201 kilograms along Auchi–Ibillo road, Akoko Edo LGA, and arrested the driver, Abdulmumid Isah, 39, and a passenger, Danako Godwin, 25.

In a related development, officers raided a notorious drug joint on Ihama Road, GRA, Benin City, where three suspects: Emmanuel Sunday, 25; Samuel Bala, 31; and Loveth Momodu, 20, were arrested with quantities of Colorado, Loud and cannabis.

In Taraba state, operatives on stop-and-search duty at the NDLEA checkpoint in Lankaviri, Yorro LGA, arrested three suspects with a total of 283 blocks of compressed cannabis weighing 226.255 kilograms within two days.

Also, on Thursday 5th November, Ibrahim Abdullahi, 45, was arrested with 156 blocks weighing 149.275kg, while Kabiru Usman, 25, was nabbed the same day with 80 blocks weighing 40.07kg. On Friday 6th November, Babangida Babayo, 32, was arrested with 47 blocks weighing 36.91kg.

In Enugu state, a 57-year-old man, Celestine Uzochukwu Ejiakor, was arrested on Tuesday 3rd November at a checkpoint in Eke Obinagu with 44 blocks of cannabis weighing 22.5 kilograms.

In another interception at the Ugwuoba checkpoint, officers arrested Godwin Shaapera, 40, with 24,000 capsules of Tramadol weighing 13.4 kilograms and 697 grams of ketamine.

A suspect, Edugua Othuke, 30, was arrested by NDLEA operatives at Ozoro, Isoko North area of Delta state with 10.54kg skunk, 9.4kg cannabis seeds and 4.3grams of methamphetamine on Saturday 31st October 2026, while another suspect, Akpofure Tobore, 34, was nabbed with quantities of skunk, tramadol, rohypnol and laughing gas on Wednesday 4th November at Upper Agbarho, Ughelli area of the state.

NDLEA said Commands and formations of the Agency across the country continued their War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitization activities in schools, worship centres, work places and communities among others in the past week.

These include: WADA enlightenment lecture to students and staff of St. Andrew Basic School, Oyo town, Oyo state; Government Technical College, Abakaliki, Ebonyi; Sa’ad College, Kano; and Inland Girls Secondary School, Onitsha, Anambra state, while the Zone 1 Command of NDLEA paid a WADA advocacy visit to the Emir of Bauchi, HRH Alhaji Rilwanu Sulaiman Adamu at his palace in Bauchi, among others.

Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), commended the officers, men and women of the MMIA, Lagos, Ondo, Ekiti, Edo, Delta, Taraba and Enugu Commands for the seizures and arrests.

He noted that the case of the Ugandan woman is a sad reminder that drug cartels will stop at nothing, including exploiting faith and religious travel, to recruit couriers for their deadly trade. He urged officers across all commands to sustain the tempo of their supply and demand reduction efforts.

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