Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency have arrested a 34-year-old Ugandan woman, Farida Nansubuga, for allegedly attempting to smuggle 1.15 kilogrammes of cocaine from Nigeria to Uganda.
The suspect was arrested at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos, on Tuesday, November 3, while attempting to board a flight to Uganda.
The agency said 87 wraps of cocaine were recovered from her pelvic region, where they had been strapped beneath two layers of underwear.
NDLEA Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, in a statement on Sunday, the suspect arrived in Nigeria on October 29 with members of her church for a prayer session at the Synagogue Church of All Nations in the Ikotun-Egbe area of Lagos State.
Babafemi said the other members of her delegation had returned to Uganda after the prayer session, but Nansubuga remained in Nigeria to allegedly collect the cocaine on behalf of a friend identified as Joy, who lives in Uganda.
He said the suspect was intercepted during a joint passenger screening exercise involving NDLEA operatives and aviation security personnel at Terminal 2 of the airport.
NDLEA said, “She came to Nigeria with members of her church for spiritual renewal at a prayer session in Lagos. But when it was time to go home, 34-year-old Ugandan, Ms Farida Nansubuga, chose a different path. While the rest of her delegation flew back to Uganda, she stayed behind, not to pray some more, but to pick up a consignment of cocaine, which she hid in her private part in a bid to smuggle it into her country.
“Her plan, however, came crashing down at the MMIA, Ikeja, Lagos, on Tuesday, 3rd November 2026, when operatives of the NDLEA intercepted her at the screening point of Terminal 2 during a joint passenger screening exercise with aviation security personnel. She was due to board a Ugandan airline flight to her home country.”
Babafemi said a preliminary investigation reportedly revealed that a contact in Nigeria arranged a vehicle to convey her to a hotel on the morning of her scheduled departure, where an unidentified man handed her the drugs.
The suspect allegedly told investigators that she was instructed to conceal the cocaine beneath her clothing to evade airport security screening.
He said, “During preliminary interview, the suspect said she arrived in Nigeria on 29th October 2026 with members of her church for a prayer session at The Synagogue Church of All Nations, Ikotun Egbe area of Lagos. She claimed that after the prayer session, the other members of her delegation returned to Uganda while she stayed back to collect the illicit consignment on behalf of a friend, simply identified as Joy, who resides in Uganda.”
She reportedly said that although no definite payment was agreed upon, she expected to receive at least $1,000 after successfully delivering the consignment in Uganda.
NDLEA Chairman, Brig-Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), described the incident as a reminder of how drug cartels exploit religious activities and travel to recruit couriers.
Commending officers for the arrest, Marwa urged personnel across the agency’s commands to sustain efforts to tackle drug trafficking and abuse.
“The case of the Ugandan woman is a sad reminder that drug cartels will stop at nothing, including exploiting faith and religious travel, to recruit couriers for their deadly trade. I urge officers across all commands to sustain the tempo of their supply and demand reduction efforts, ” he said.
The arrest was among several drug seizures and arrests recorded by the agency across the country.
In another operation at the Lagos airport, operatives intercepted 750,000 tablets of Tapentadol 250mg, weighing 526 kilogrammes and valued at N900m.
The consignment, which arrived from India aboard an Ethiopian Airlines flight, was allegedly declared as Paracetamol tablets.
“In another interception at the Lagos airport, NDLEA operatives on Friday, 6th November uncovered 750,000 tablets of Tapentadol 250mg, weighing 526 kilograms with a street value of N900 million, in a consignment from India declared as Paracetamol Tablets 500mg. The consignment, made up of eleven cartons packed in two wooden structures, arrived at the import shed of the airport on Tuesday 3rd November aboard an Ethiopian Airlines flight from Ahmedabad, India,” he said.
He further said the agency also intercepted 32 parcels of Loud weighing 16.15 kilogrammes, concealed in two wooden sofas in a cargo shipment from Houston, United States.
Meanwhile, NDLEA operatives intercepted 600 tablets of Tramadol 225mg concealed in female headwear in a shipment destined for the United Kingdom.
The agency also recovered 46 blocks of cannabis weighing 22.2 kilogrammes from two cartons being shipped to the UK.
Earlier, the agency had intercepted a large consignment of illicit drugs cleverly concealed in imported furniture, specifically sofas, and women’s headgear.
Footage shows officers carefully unpacking large cardboard crates containing sofas. After cutting through the outer packaging and internal foam and padding, operatives recovered multiple sealed packages of suspected narcotics hidden within the furniture.
