Italy-based businessman arrested at Enugu airport, excretes 98 wraps of cocaine

A 30-year-old Italy-based businessman, Joseph Cyril, has been arrested by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport in Enugu State for ingesting 98 wraps of cocaine while heading to Italy via Addis Ababa and France.

The businessman was nabbed at the departure hall of the airport during the outward clearance of passengers on Ethiopian Airlines flight ET930.

The NDLEA Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, in a statement issued on Sunday, August 9, 2026, said the suspect, who was arrested last Sunday, was subsequently placed on excretion observation during which he excreted 98 wraps of cocaine weighing 1.510 kilograms.

‎Babafemi said investigations revealed that Cyril had arrived Nigeria from Italy on July 13 and ingested the drug in a hotel in Awka, the capital of Anambra State, before proceeding to Enugu to board his flight to Europe on Sunday, August 2, 2026.

Babafemi noted that Cyril claimed he had been doing business in Italy for years before agreeing to traffic the drug consignment for a fee of 3,500 Euros in order to raise money to relocate to Germany where his family is based.

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He added that the NDLEA continued its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation activities to schools, worship centres, workplaces, and communities, among others, in the past week.

Babafemi listed the activities to include WADA enlightenment lectures to students and staff of Islamic High School, Saki, Oyo State; Holy Ghost Academy, Nkpor, Anambra State; and Madarasatul Hidayatul Aulad Islamiyya, Gaya, Kano State; while the Rivers State Command of the NDLEA paid a WADA advocacy visit to the management of Ignatius Ajuru University of Education, Port Harcourt, the state capital; among others.