PHOTOS: NDLEA intercepts hard Drugs hidden in prayer beads, clothes at Lagos Airport

Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have successfully intercepted the attempts of drug traffickers to move illegal substances to the United States of America, Saudi Arabia, Italy, Poland, and the United Arab Emirates.

The agency’s Director of Media & Advocacy, in a statement, revealed that drug traffickers concealed cocaine, tramadol, loud, molly, and other hard drugs in prayer beads, packs of board games, and female clothes.

One of the suspects behind the thwarted mission is a 43-year-old businesswoman identified as Jakpor Egware May.

According to Babafemi, she was nabbed at the Gate ‘C’ departure hall of the Lagos airport while attempting to board an Air France flight to Italy on Saturday, 8th March 2025, with cannabis and skunk.

“When she was searched, 190 parcels of tramadol 225mg and another parcel of skunk, a strain of cannabis, were recovered from her luggage. In her statement, she claimed that she bought the drugs herself with the intention to resell them in Italy,” said Babafemi.

60-Year-Old Arrested with Skunk Concealed in Clothes

In another operation, a 60-year-old man, identified as Yahaya Fatai Ayinla, was caught with 400 grams of skunk concealed in clothes.

Babafemi revealed that the suspect was arrested at the export shed of the Lagos airport on March 11 while attempting to traffic a cargo containing clothes used to conceal the illicit substance to New York in the United States of America (USA).

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NDLEA operatives also thwarted the efforts of some drug traffickers who attempted to export over two kilograms of loud, molly, and tramadol 365mg, 225mg, hidden in Vitamin C bottles and female clothes to the USA.

Skunk, Tramadol Recovered in Kano, Taraba, Kaduna, Kogi

In Kano, Taraba, and Kaduna, NDLEA operatives also arrested suspects who had skunk and tramadol in their possession.

On March 12, 727 blocks of compressed skunk weighing 479kg were recovered from a 40-year-old suspect identified as Hassan Haruna in the Chalawa area of Kano.

NDLEA operatives also intercepted no fewer than 58,300 pills of tramadol along the Kabba-Obajana highway, Kogi State, in a commercial bus coming from Lagos en route to Abuja on Tuesday, 11th March.

A 21-year-old man, Idris Hamza, was arrested with 4,900 pills of tramadol 225mg. A similar operation also saw the arrest of a 25-year-old, Aminu Magaji, who had 2,900 tablets of tramadol 225mg in his possession.

Babafemi added that other suspects were arrested in Taraba and Osun.

“In Taraba State, NDLEA officers on Friday, 14th March, arrested Polycarp Adeku, 35, at Bente Road, Kurmi LGA, with 15.77kg of skunk, while in Osun State, operatives on Thursday, 13th March, intercepted a commercial bus marked SGB 564 YS coming from Idumota, Lagos Island, in front of King University, Ode-Omu, with a total of 48.7kg of Ghanaian Loud, Colorado, and Canadian Loud, all strains of cannabis,” Babafemi noted.

See photos of the seized items below: