20-year-old Ghanaian-British Man, India-bound Brothers Arrested At Lagos Airport With Hard Drugs

Operatives of a Special Operations Unit of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested Parker Darren Hazekia Osei, a 20-year-old Ghanaian-British man, and two brothers, John Abugu, 43, and Kenneth Abugu, 31, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) in Ikeja, Lagos with substances suspected to be hard drugs.

Osei,was apprehended with 36 parcels of Loud—a potent cannabis strain—weighing 19.40 kilograms in a large travelling bag.

Osei, who says he studies Computer Science at East London University, UK, was detained during passenger clearance on an Ethiopian Airlines flight from Bangkok, Thailand, at the E-arrival hall.

He admitted to leaving London a week earlier to pick up the drugs in Bangkok for delivery in Nigeria, according to Femi Babafemi, NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy, in a statement released on Sunday.

This is coming as the two brothers were caught with 5 kilograms of cocaine hidden in the walls of their suitcases as they tried to board a flight to India on Thursday, 3 April 2025.

Acting on credible intelligence, NDLEA officers searched their luggage thoroughly, uncovering whitish powdery substances later confirmed as cocaine. The brothers claimed they were travelling for medical treatment.

Elsewhere, NDLEA operatives in Kogi State arrested 33-year-old Ngozi Ogili on Monday, 31 March 2025, along the Okene-Lokoja highway. She was transporting 3 kilograms of methamphetamine from Lagos to Abuja in a commercial bus. A follow-up operation in Apo mechanic area, Abuja, led to the seizure of Loud and Colorado, both synthetic cannabis strains.

In Abia State, a raid on Saturday, 5 April, saw 75-year-old Nna Nnanna Felix arrested with 1.6 kilograms of skunk in Umunteke Asa, Ukwa West LGA. On Tuesday, 1 April, 21-year-old David Chinemerem was nabbed with 2,050 ampoules of pentazocine at 7 Nnajiego Lane, Umuode Road, Aba.

In Yobe State, NDLEA operatives seized 381 bottles of codeine syrup and 108 tramadol tablets from Abdullahi Adamu along the Potiskum-Damaturu road on Saturday, 5 April. Raids in Osogbo motor park, Onitsha, and a house in Oba, Idemili LGA, Anambra State, resulted in the arrest of Obinna Sunday and the recovery of 195,000 tramadol pills. Ugochukwu Ojalanonye was also arrested at the motor park with 4.2 kilograms of codeine syrup and 5.4 kilograms of pentazocine.

In the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), a raid at Wuse market on Thursday, 3 April, led to the arrest of 51-year-old Sunday Ayogu with 25 kilograms of skunk and 90.4 grams of methamphetamine. On Friday, 4 April, NDLEA operatives, aided by the Nigerian Army, destroyed 250,000 kilograms of cannabis across over 100 hectares in Esuk-Odot, Odukpani LGA, Cross River State, arresting Faith Effiong Etim, 64, and Victoria Asuquo Etim, 40.

NDLEA’s War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) continued with sensitisation efforts nationwide, including lectures at Cave City Secondary School in Ogidi, Anambra; Dan’iyau village in Batagarawa LGA, Katsina; and to medicine dealers in Sangere and Kwanan Waya, Yola, Adamawa.

Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd), NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, praised the MMIA, SOU, Yobe, Abia, Kogi, Anambra, Cross River, and FCT Commands for their successes. He highlighted their balanced approach to reducing drug supply and demand, noting that these efforts are well appreciated across the country.