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The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has apprehended a 48-year-old businessman, Orizu Ifeanyi Arthur, at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, while attempting to board Air France Flight 844 to Paris, France.
Naija News reports that Orizu was caught with 74 wraps of heroin and cocaine ingested in his body.
In a statement on Sunday, Director, Media & Advocacy of the NDLEA, Femi Babafemi, disclosed that the arrest took place on December 22, 2024, during the routine clearance of passengers.
When asked to undergo a body scan, Orizu declined, citing medical reasons. Following his refusal, he was detained for observation, during which he excreted the 74 wraps of drugs over seven days.
Orizu Ifeanyi Arthur
In his confession, Orizu revealed that he operates a shop at Balogun Market, Lagos, selling school and travel bags. He admitted he was promised €3,000 to successfully deliver the drugs to Paris.
In another operation, NDLEA’s Marine Command intercepted two boats carrying 1,960 kilograms of a potent cannabis strain known as “Ghanaian Loud” at Eleko Beach, Lekki, Lagos, in the early hours of Christmas Eve, December 24.
Six foreign nationals were arrested during the operation, including two Ghanaians, Godsway John (38) and Freedom Kelvin (33), and four Beninese nationals, Chegoun Hounsou (23), Gadabor Nyameto (47), Adantg Sasa (34), and Ayao Kayivi (21).
Meanwhile, in Katsina State, Ibrahim Shaibu (35) was arrested on Christmas Day at Central Motor Park with 40 parcels of compressed cannabis weighing 35 kilograms. Another suspect, Umar Ahmed (47), was apprehended along Zaria-Malumfashi Road on December 28 with 27 parcels of cannabis weighing 13.5 kilograms.
Additionally, a raid in Benin City, Edo State, on December 23 led to the arrest of 21-year-old Kosisochukwu Ozigbo. NDLEA operatives recovered 32,490 tramadol pills of varying strengths, 936 bottles of codeine-based syrup, and other opioids from the suspect.
The NDLEA complemented these enforcement actions with advocacy campaigns under the War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) initiative.
The agency also conducted sensitization lectures in schools, markets, and worship centers across the country, including an event in Akoka, Lagos, and a leadership camp in Adamawa State.
Reacting, NDLEA Chairman, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), commended the agency’s operatives for their efforts in 2024 and urged them to intensify their fight against drug trafficking in the new year, combining enforcement with heightened WADA campaigns.
