The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, has arrested a 38-year-old businessman, Philip Tunde, after allegedly finding 4.80 kilogrammes of cocaine concealed inside the soles of shoes and railings of travelling bags at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, MMIA, Lagos.
Tunde was arrested on Sunday, September 27, 2026, at the joint screening point of Terminal 2 of the Lagos airport while preparing to board a Royal Air Maroc flight to Milan, Italy.
A statement by Femi Babafemi, NDLEA Director of Media and Advocacy on Sunday, its operatives subjected the suspect’s luggage to a thorough search and discovered 16 parcels of a white powdery substance concealed inside the soles of eight pairs of trainers and canvas shoes.
Another 195 wraps of the substance were allegedly found hidden inside the railings of four travelling bags.
The agency said the substances tested positive for cocaine, with a combined weight of 4.80kg.
During interrogation, Tunde allegedly told investigators that he paid N16 million in cash for the cocaine concealed in the shoes, while the consignment hidden in the bags was meant to be delivered to his partner in Italy.
He reportedly claimed that the money used to purchase the cocaine came from compensation he received after suffering an injury while working at a plastic manufacturing company in Italy, where he lost the tips of two fingers.
The arrest was part of a wider series of operations by the NDLEA in which the agency said it intercepted large consignments of illicit drugs worth more than N5 billion at major Nigerian seaports and recovered narcotics in several states.
In Plateau State, a 41-year-old suspect, Agbo Dennis, was arrested on Tuesday, September 29, around West of Mines in Jos North following the seizure of 33 bags of skunk weighing 385kg.
In Lagos, NDLEA operatives raided an unoccupied compound at Divine Estate, Ago Palace, on Monday, September 28, where they recovered 209,000 tablets of tramadol.
The Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), commended officers involved in the operations and urged them to sustain what he described as the agency’s intelligence-driven efforts against drug trafficking.
