NDLEA intercepts US, UK-bound drugs hidden in snails, bulbs

The operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have intercepted illicit drugs concealed in frozen snails, electrical bulbs, and female clothes heading to the United States, United Kingdom, and Democratic Republic of Congo.

The illicit drugs were intercepted by NDLEA operatives at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport and a courier company in Lagos.

Two suspects linked to attempts to export the illicit substances were apprehended by the anti-drug agency officers.

The NDLEA Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, in a statement on Sunday, October 19, said one of the suspects, Boladale Riliwan, was arrested on October 7, 2025, following the discovery of 15 parcels of skunk, a strain of cannabis, concealed in 10 pieces of giant rechargeable electrical bulbs he presented in a carton for airfreight to DR Congo at the export shed of the Lagos airport.

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Babafemi disclosed that another suspect in custody is 48-year-old Olawale Oyebola Hakeemot who is a UK-based Public Health Assistant.

The NDLEA spokesman said Hakeemot was arrested at the departure hall of terminal 2 of the Lagos airport on Sunday, October 12, following the discovery of frozen snails used to conceal 2,300 pills of tramadol 225mg in her luggage while heading to Manchester, United Kingdom, on a Qatar Airways flight.

Babafemi revealed that an attempt by another syndicate to export 810 pills of bromazepam hidden in female clothes going to the United States was also thwarted by NDLEA officers at a courier company in Lagos on Thursday, October 16.

The Star