Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a woman, Ihensekhien Obehi, at the Port Harcourt International Airport for attempting to smuggle cocaine to Iran through an unusual concealment strategy involving her private part, stomach, and handbag. Obehi, disguised in a hijab, was apprehended on Sunday, May 3, 2025, while trying to board a Qatar Airways flight to Iran via Doha.

 

NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi confirmed in a statement that she was caught with three wraps of cocaine inserted in her private part, two parcels hidden in the false bottom of her handbag, and 67 pellets she had ingested.

 

“During her search, she was found to have inserted three wraps of cocaine into her private part, with two large parcels hidden in false compartments of her handbag, while she had also swallowed 67 pellets of the Class A drug. As a result, she was placed under excretion observation. After four excretions over several days, she expelled all 67 wraps. She claimed she was meant to swallow 70 pellets of cocaine but, after ingesting 67, could no longer continue and decided to insert the remaining three into her private part. The total weight of the three consignments hidden in different parts of her body is 2.523 kilograms,” Babafemi stated.

 

In a related incident, NDLEA operatives at Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos intercepted a 22-year-old British national, Campbell Slifer, on Friday, May 9, in possession of two suitcases containing 35 parcels of Loud, a strong variant of cannabis, with a total weight of 37.6kg. Babafemi revealed that Slifer, who has a prior conviction for drug trafficking and robbery in the UK, told investigators he was recruited in London to pick up the drugs in Thailand and deliver them to Nigeria.

 

Further anti-narcotics operations across Nigeria also yielded major seizures. In Niger State, NDLEA officers intercepted a fuel tanker and three other vehicles transporting 246 bags of skunk weighing 3,047kg along the Suleja-Kaduna Road. Four suspects—Christopher Onyema, 47; Benedict Etineruba Young, 54; Chukwudi Ujue Jerry, 30; and Mohammed Abdullahi Danasabe—were arrested. The vehicles recovered included a Honda Odyssey bus with plate number YAB 667 CZ, a Gulf bus with registration number GWA 125 TQ, and another Honda Odyssey marked ABJ 230 CN.

 

In Lagos, 1.1kg of Loud concealed in a pillow from Thailand was intercepted at a courier service hub. In Bauchi State, NDLEA patrol officers on the Bauchi–Gombe Road intercepted a Toyota Tundra jeep with plate number RBC 111 DW carrying 526 blocks of skunk weighing 505kg. Two men, Isaac Onogure, 37, and Ikechukwu Peter, 44, were taken into custody. In Kano, a raid at a hideout in the Rijiyar Zaki area on Saturday, May 10, led to the recovery of 31 kegs containing 775 litres of codeine syrup. Two suspects, Hafizu Isa Uman, 34, and Ismail Shehu, 48, were arrested.