NDLEA Busts Italy-Bound Businessman With 4.8kg Cocaine Hidden in Shoes, Travel Bags

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intercepted a 38-year-old businessman, identified as Philip Tunde, with 4.80 kilogrammes of cocaine allegedly concealed in the soles of shoes and the railings of travelling bags at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos.

According to the anti-narcotics agency, Tunde was arrested on Sunday, September 27, 2026, at the joint screening point of Terminal 2 at the Lagos airport. He was reportedly preparing to board a Royal Air Maroc flight to Milan, Italy, when NDLEA operatives subjected him to a thorough search.

The search reportedly uncovered 16 parcels of a white powdery substance hidden inside the soles of eight pairs of trainers and canvas shoes. NDLEA said the operation also led to the discovery of another 195 wraps concealed within the railings of four travelling bags.

The agency said the recovered substances were subjected to testing and subsequently tested positive for cocaine, with a combined weight of 4.80 kilogrammes. The discovery effectively stopped the suspected consignment from being transported out of Nigeria aboard the Italy-bound flight.

During questioning, the suspect reportedly told investigators that he had paid ₦16 million in cash for the cocaine concealed in the shoes. He allegedly claimed that the separate consignment hidden inside the travelling bags was intended to be delivered to a business partner in Italy.

Tunde reportedly further told NDLEA operatives that the money used to purchase the cocaine came from compensation he received after sustaining an injury while working at a plastic manufacturing company in Italy. According to the agency, he said the injury resulted in the loss of the tips of two fingers.

The airport interception formed part of a wider series of operations announced by the NDLEA on Sunday. The agency said its operatives also intercepted large consignments of Loud, a potent strain of cannabis, and codeine-based cough syrup at the Apapa, Tin Can Island and Onne ports.

At Apapa Port in Lagos, NDLEA officers working with Customs and other stakeholders reportedly subjected containers shipped from Bangkok, Thailand, to a 100 per cent examination. One of the containers yielded 161 parcels of Thai Loud weighing 124 kilogrammes, concealed in two refrigerators and two cartons. The agency valued the consignment at ₦372 million.

At the Onne Port in Rivers State, NDLEA said its operatives discovered additional Loud weighing 22 kilogrammes as well as 109,600 bottles of codeine-based cough syrup weighing 16,440 kilogrammes in two watch-listed containers. The agency put the combined street value of the Loud and codeine consignments at ₦833.2 million. At Tin Can Island Port, another 1,297.5 kilogrammes of Canadian Loud was reportedly recovered from a container originating from Montreal.

The NDLEA said the various seizures followed intelligence gathering and the tracking of suspected drug shipments from their points of origin. The agency’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, said the operations demonstrated the agency’s continuing efforts to disrupt drug trafficking networks, while NDLEA Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd.), commended the officers involved and urged them to sustain the intelligence-driven approach.