The operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a 25-year-old newlywed businessman, Lovely Chukwulobelu, at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport in Enugu State for allegedly attempting to traffic 72 wraps of cocaine, which he ingested to Portugal, where he resides.
The NDLEA Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, disclosed this via a statement issued on Sunday, September 27, 2026.
Babafemi said Chukwulobelu was intercepted by NDLEA officers at the departure hall of the Enugu airport on Thursday, September 24, with cocaine in his gut and wedding ring on his finger, while he attempted to board an Ethiopian Airlines flight to Portugal via Addis Ababa.
Babafemi said the suspect was subsequently placed under excretion observation during which he egested a total of 72 wraps of cocaine.
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He noted that Chukwulobelu, who claimed he was into car decoration business at the Trade Fair Complex in the Ojo area of Lagos State before he relocated to Portugal in May 2023, said he returned to Nigeria recently to get married on September 13, 2026.
The NDLEA spokesman quoted the suspect as saying that he resorted to the criminal trade to offset expenses incurred during his wedding.
Babafemi added that two Togolese nationals – Yinusa Abdulsamad, 35, and Fatai Baba, 33 – were nabbed by NDLEA officers at Iganna-Ilero road in Iganna, Oyo State, with 305.6kg of skunk concealed in two pick-up vans used for cross-border trafficking racket, moving Ghanaian-sourced cannabis into Nigeria through the Oyo axis on Saturday, September 26.
