Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have intercepted 26-year-old Esther Onyinyechi Uzodinma, a 200-level nursing student at Noida International University in Uttar Pradesh, from ingesting 76 wraps of cocaine at Royal Park Hotel, Kano. The arrest occurred on January 16, 2025, just hours before her scheduled flight to India.
Uzodinma, set to board Qatar Airways Flight 1432 to Delhi, was apprehended after NDLEA operatives arrested 31-year-old Cosmas Okorie on the Okene-Lokoja highway. Okorie, traveling from Lagos to Kano, was found with 76 cocaine pellets hidden in an audio speaker, allegedly meant for Uzodinma.
Uzodinma admitted to being recruited by a drug cartel in India, receiving payment for her trip to Nigeria. To avoid detection by her parents, she stayed in hotels across Enugu, Abuja, and Kano. She was promised over $5,000 for successfully smuggling the cocaine back to India.
In other operations, NDLEA arrested multiple suspects along the Okene-Lokoja-Abuja highway with over 38,000 tramadol pills concealed in speakers and clothing. In Lagos, a raid in Ojodu-Berger led to the seizure of 4.9kg of Canadian Loud cannabis and various packaging materials. In Alimosho, operatives confiscated 1,610kg of skunk and tramadol pills, along with vehicles used for distribution.
Further arrests in Kano yielded 7.6kg of skunk and psychoactive substances, while in Kwara State, 390 tablets of Molly and 65.5kg of cannabis were seized. In Taraba, 25,000 tramadol pills were intercepted, and in Abuja, 118 bottles of codeine syrup were confiscated, with 13 additional arrests across various locations for possession of illicit drugs.
