– AWKA, Anambra State
Agents from the National Drug Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) arrested Nwabueze Felix Onyeka, a 45-year-old PhD student, for allegedly planning to export 5.8 kilograms of cocaine to Malaysia. The drugs, packaged in 36 bundles, were hidden inside nine boxes of Orijin Bitters as part of a shipment destined for Kuala Lumpur. Onyeka, a student at Putra University in Malaysia, was arrested on June 29, 2026, in the Ekwusigo Local Government Area in Anambra State.
The arrest followed the interception of the suspicious shipment, which led to the detention of four suspects in Lagos. Among those arrested are freight forwarder Alalade Taiwo Azeez, driver Ndem Ogbonna Kelechi, trader Okeke Tochukwu Chimezie from the ASPANDA market, and Igwilo Chidi Henry, who allegedly supplied the boxes of Orijin Bitters used to conceal the drugs. Information obtained following these arrests identified Onyeka as the leader of the network.
Further investigations located Onyeka in his hometown of Aziora, in Ozubulu, Anambra State, where NDLEA agents arrested him while he was in hiding. The agency has identified him as the alleged mastermind of the drug trafficking network that attempted to transport hard drugs from Nigeria to Malaysia using this ingenious concealment method.
This operation demonstrates the NDLEA’s ongoing efforts to dismantle transnational drug trafficking networks that exploit sophisticated concealment techniques within legitimate cargo. The agency stated that all suspects will be prosecuted according to the law. Investigations into the entire network are ongoing.