The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a 50-year-old widow and fashion designer, Mrs. Ifeoma Henrietta Ezewuike, after she attempted to traffic 1.3 kilograms of cocaine by faking pregnancy.
The suspect, a mother of one and owner of Golden Star Creation, a fashion business in Okota, Lagos, was intercepted on Friday, August 22, 2025, at Jibowu, Yaba. She was on her way to deliver the cocaine consignment to customers in Abuja before operatives caught up with her.
During a follow-up search at her Ago Palace residence, NDLEA officials uncovered 200 grams of cutting agents used in cocaine production. Ezewuike confessed she took over the trade from her late husband, who died two years ago, though she had been a fashion entrepreneur for over two decades.
Meanwhile, the NDLEA carried out several other nationwide operations during the week. In Lagos, operatives intercepted 90 parcels of Loud, a strong strain of cannabis weighing 48.6kg, hidden inside three cartons of imported kitchen sinks from the United States.
In Adamawa, a raid on the house of notorious dealer Idris Garba forced him to flee, but his associate, 55-year-old Boniface Nnaji, was arrested. Two vehicles, a Toyota Tundra Jeep and a Toyota Yaris, were recovered, both loaded with over 354,000 pills of tramadol and other opioids.
In Kogi, operatives seized 5,000 capsules of tramadol, 400 ampoules of pentazocine, and 200 ampoules of diazepam from suspect Neche Okonkwo, caught at Idah waterside while crossing from Anambra State.
Kano also witnessed huge seizures including 452,070 pills of opioids, 5,850 pregabalin capsules, 140 litres of codeine syrup, and 7,000 capsules of tramadol. Several arrests were made, though one major dealer remains on the run.
The agency further intercepted 2,289kg of cannabis in Kwara, 96kg in Ekiti, and destroyed cannabis farms covering 25 hectares across Taraba, Edo, Delta, and Ondo States, totaling over 75,000kg of skunk burned.
In Abuja, NDLEA operatives nabbed two dispatch riders who had turned door-to-door delivery into a drug distribution channel. One was caught with pentazocine injections, while the other carried skunk neatly packaged for customers.
The NDLEA says these arrests and seizures show its renewed push against drug trafficking, with operatives stepping up raids across the country to dismantle criminal networks hiding under legal businesses and courier services.
