Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have apprehended two Brazilian returnees, Ofoma Sunday and Ukachukwu Frank Ikechukwu, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) Ikeja Lagos, and subsequently, they excreted a total of 116 wraps of heroin and cocaine while in observatory custody.
Femi Babafemi, image maker of NDLEA revealedin a statement released that 46-year-old suspect, was apprehended on Tuesday, 16th September 2025, at Terminal 2 of the Lagos airport, upon his arrival from Laos, Brazil, via an Ethiopian Airlines flight. The results of a body scan revealed that he had ingested illicit substances. Ofoma had traveled from Nigeria to Brazil on 3rd September, with the objective of transporting the consignment to Lagos, for which he was to receive a $2,500 reward, upon successful delivery.
A follow-up operation was promptly executed at Eliata Hotel in Amuwo Odofin area of Lagos where Ofoma was instructed to meet Nweke Jude Chuckwudi who was designated to oversee the excretion of the drugs at the hotel and recover them. The 55-year-old Nweke was arrested in the process. A total of 111 wraps of heroin weighing 1.452 kilograms were egested in eight excretions by Ofoma.
Furthermore, Ukachukwu Frank Ikechukwu, a returnee from Brazil, was apprehended at the Lagos airport during the inward clearance of Ethiopian Airlines passengers from Brazil via Addis Ababa on Friday, 19th September. A body scan was conducted, which confirmed the presence of illicit drugs. Under observation for excretion, Ukachukwu expelled five large wraps of cocaine weighing 145 grams.
In his statement, he confessed to have bought nine wraps of the class A drug in Brazil and inserted all into his anus, a process he claimed took him nearly two hours. During his transit through Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, he said he began to experience severe anal pain and decided to remove the wraps from his body. He stated that in an attempt to meet up with his connecting flight to Nigeria, he could only manage to reinsert seven wraps, after which he flushed the remaining two wraps in a toilet.
The suspect revealed that while on board his flight to Nigeria, he felt pressed and uncomfortable, which compelled him to use the lavatory. During the process, he expelled an additional two wraps, leaving him with only five wraps in his anus. He claimed to have been into clothing business before traveling to Brazil in 2017. In 2020, he moved to the United States, where he was arrested for immigration offence and was detained for over a year before being deported to Nigeria in 2022.
In March 2025, he returned to Brazil, where he currently works, having already obtained a Brazilian residence permit
In his reaction, Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd said ““These arrests and seizures represent a significant milestone in our determined effort to dismantle drug trafficking organizations operating in Nigeria and around the world, prioritizing those bent on targeting our productive youth population with illicit substances until they’re no longer able to inflict harm on our communities or misrepresent our country’s image in the global space”
Credit: NDLEA
