NDLEA Nabs Businessman at Lagos Airport for Smuggling N4.65 Billion Worth of Cocaine

 

NDLEA Nabs Businessman at Lagos Airport for Smuggling N4.65 Billion Worth of Cocaine

In a dramatic bust at Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) Lagos, 48-year-old businessman Christian Ifeanyi Ogbuji has once again been arrested by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) for smuggling 817 wraps of cocaine. The narcotics, weighing 19.40 kilograms and valued at N4.65 billion, were found concealed in a black backpack inside his luggage.

This arrest comes just 16 months after Ogbuji's initial conviction for trafficking 93 pellets of cocaine. He was first arrested in May 2023 at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, after arriving from Uganda via Addis Ababa. He was convicted and sentenced to two years imprisonment, which he avoided by paying a N3 million fine. The court had also ordered the forfeiture of the drugs, his passport, and foreign currency in his possession at the time.

Undeterred by his past, Ogbuji was arrested again on September 18, 2024, while attempting to smuggle drugs into the country via an Ethiopian Airlines flight. After clearing his black travel bag at an NDLEA checkpoint, Ogbuji suspiciously returned to the baggage carousel to pick up a black backpack, which he then hid inside the already cleared bag. However, vigilant NDLEA operatives, conducting a secondary search, uncovered the concealed cocaine.

Further investigation revealed that the 817 wraps of cocaine were excreted by various drug mules in Addis Ababa and belonged to multiple members of a larger drug cartel spanning Brazil, Ethiopia, Nigeria, and West African countries such as Ghana, Benin, and Liberia.

During his interrogation, Ogbuji admitted that he intentionally left the backpack at the carousel to evade suspicion, believing that having his primary luggage cleared would be sufficient to bypass security. He had even procured a new passport to resume his illicit activities.

NDLEA Chairman, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), praised the MMIA Strategic Command for their excellent work, emphasizing that this seizure is a significant milestone in the fight against international drug cartels. He reaffirmed the agency’s commitment to disrupting drug trafficking operations and preventing Nigeria from becoming a hub for such activities.