NDLEA Seizes Massive Skunk Haul In Rice Shafts, Nabs Traffic Suspect

Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have intercepted a heavy-duty truck conveying 1,633 kilogrammes of skunk along the busy Akure-Ilesha Expressway in Ondo State.

The illegal consignment, heavily concealed inside bags of rice shafts to beat security checks, was uncovered during a routine patrol by officers on the highway, Naija News understands.

The agency’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, confirmed the seizure in an official statement made available to journalists on Sunday.

Babafemi stated that two suspects, 40-year-old Buba Jamilu and 30-year-old Sanusi Ibrahim, were immediately arrested in connection with the massive drug shipment.

In a related raid on Monday, August 3, anti-narcotic officers also recovered an additional 147 kilogrammes of skunk from the Ita Ogbolu forest in the Akure North Local Government Area of Ondo State.

In a separate operation, NDLEA officers stationed at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport in Enugu arrested a 30-year-old Italy-based businessman, Joseph Cyril, for drug trafficking.

Cyril was intercepted on Sunday during the outward clearance of passengers boarding an Ethiopian Airlines flight, ET930, bound for Europe.

Following his arrest on suspicion of drug ingestion, he was placed under medical observation, where he eventually excreted 98 wraps of cocaine weighing a total of 1.510 kilogrammes.

During interrogation, Cyril confessed that he had been living and doing business in Italy for several years before agreeing to act as a drug mule.

He disclosed that he arrived in Nigeria from Italy on July 13, 2026, and swallowed the drug pellets inside a hotel room in Awka, Anambra State, before travelling down to Enugu to catch his flight.

The suspect admitted accepting the dangerous job for a payment of €3,500, which he planned to use to relocate his family from Italy to Germany.