Drug traffickers have in recent times upped the ante and devised numerous tactics to conceal illicit substances from the prying eyes of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) operatives.

The agency has uncovered numerous methods used by suspects through its officials’ vigilance and diverse scanners at the nation’s airports.

The NDLEA discovered through its intelligence-led operations that traffickers have devised more technical and professional ways of concealing drugs to evade detection using items that appear harmless or normal at first glance during routine, manual checks.

During the operations, the agency has found that the substances are concealed through several means, including basic household items such as food products, vehicles, trucks, mobile accessories, electronic appliances, cosmetics, clothing and courier services, among others.

The Peoples Gazette highlighted 20 ways traffickers have concealed illegal substances uncovered through modern devices, intelligence-led operations and alertness of the NDLEA operatives.

Fufu Wraps

On August 21, NDLEA operatives in Akwa Ibom State, through credible intelligence, intercepted a wooden boat, arresting three suspects conveying 42.622kg of narcotics to fishing settlements in Cameroon; one of the suspects, Kingsley Effiong John, 27, was found with 20 grams of cocaine concealed inside a large wrap of edible cassava (fufu), alongside 435 grams of skunk.

Plantain peels

A 67-year-old Nigerian-British grandma, Mary Yetunde Barek, was arrested in July at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos, as 13 kilograms of cocaine were discovered in plantain peels which appeared to be normal food items.

Loaves of bread

In a massive raid by the vigilant officers recently, a stop-and-search operation along the Zaria-Kano-Hadeija road led to the seizure of 1,700 tablets of diazepam hidden inside loaves of bread from a 28-year-old woman, Habibu Sabitu.

Bags of food shafts

Traffickers have also used bags of food shafts to conceal large amounts of illegal drug substances. Operatives intercepted a truck heading to the North with 1,633 kilograms of skunk concealed in bags of rice shafts while on patrol, with two suspects arrested for transporting the consignment.

Cookies and gummies

Snacks such as cookies and gummies have also been used as a major tactic to hide drugs, as most of these products are infused with several illicit substances. 

Operatives of the NDLEA, Customs and other security agencies during a joint examination of a 40ft container seized a total of 73 cartons containing 442 packets of cookies and gummies infused with cannabis at the Tincan port complex Lagos, weighing 309.4kg were discovered during a joint examination of a 40ft container at the Tincan port complex Lagos.

In another case, the agency seized a consignment of 890 packets weighing 598.08kg of cannabis-laced cookies intercepted in a 40-foot container at the port and linked to previous seizures. 

False bottom of food Flasks and baby food tins

Traffickers also use methods such as baby food tins and false bottoms of food flasks to conceal drugs. Operatives of the agency intercepted 12 large parcels of cocaine weighing 2.80 kilograms, concealed in the false bottoms of food flasks, heading to the United Kingdom.

In 2024, operatives of the NDLEA recovered 36 parcels of highly potent cannabis, with a total gross weight of 18.50 kilograms, concealed inside factory-sealed Nestlé Cerelac baby food tins at the SAHCOL export shed at the Lagos airport.

Cosmetics containers

In March, operatives intercepted a 37-year-old man, Friday Ehinuaka, who attempted to fly out 2,698 pills of Tramdol (225mg) at the Lagos airport concealed inside skin-lightening body lotion containers. The suspect said he was a resident of Milan and was to be paid upon his arrival in Italy.

Clothings

In another bust in March, Christian Agbonhese, a 38-year-old Milan resident, was arrested at the same airport in Lagos after a thorough search of his luggage led to the discovery of 23,150 pills of tramadol (225mg), 4,000 tablets of tapentadol (250mg), and 1,320 pills of tramadol (100mg) hidden inside two large winter jackets.

The NDLEA Operatives also recovered 200 tablets of tramadol (225mg) worth over N1.1 billion hidden among thrift trousers in a 21- carton consignment from Pakistan in Lagos through a major drug seizure operation across Adamawa, Ondo, Kaduna, Bauchi, Ekiti, Kogi, Taraba and Enugu states.

Vehicle fuel tanks

In July, NDLEA operatives, following credible information, disclosed that a suspect, Daniel Harrison Ugoweke, 30, was arrested with 43,980 tablets of tramadol hidden inside two vehicle fuel tanks along the Zaki-Biam road in the Wukari Local Government Area of the state, while travelling from Onitsha, Anambra State.

Fuel tanker compartments

On September 4, a coordinated nationwide operation by the NDLEA intercepted a 20,000-litre fuel tanker in Ondo State fitted with 165 bags of cannabis, weighing a total of 2,145kg along the Akoko/ Lokoja expressway destined for Jos, Plateau State.

The agency said the driver abandoned the tanker at a church premises in Ugbe Akoko, which prompted officers to conduct a search of the vehicle.

Music speakers

A sting operation led to the interception of a music speaker concealed with three packs of Colorado at a motor park in Maza Maza, Lagos, which was en route to Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, and ultimately Liberia. A tour agent and Ifeanyi Obed Augustin,41, and the consignment’s owner, Obasi Ugochukwu, 46, were apprehended in a nearby eatery.

Child as cover 

A South African woman, Will Jessica Ann, was arrested in July and sentenced to 40 years in jail after she was nabbed by operatives at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport for concealing 14 large blocks of heroin weighing 5.75 kilograms in her luggage, using her three-year-old son to pass airport security and evade thorough screening.

She initially denied that the luggage did not belong to her but later admitted to carrying the drugs. She explained that she was a member of a transnational drug trafficking organisation along with her spouse, Jan Coenraad De Jager, based in Cambodia, where they operate the drug network with a Cambodian and South African axis.

Water purifiers

In May, the NDLEA operatives seized consignments of water purifier machines at a courier company, shipped to Lagos from the Netherlands, stuffed with mainly ketamine weighing 3 kilograms and 199 grams of MDMA (ecstasy).

Gas compressors & gas cylinders

Operatives of the Directorate of Operation and General Investigation (DOGI) intercepted gas compressors in July at a logistics company in Lagos, concealed with 2.5kg of skunk, a strain of cannabis.

Apart from traffickers using gas compressors, they also use gas cylinders to hide drugs. Recently in Delta State, operatives arrested a suspect, Onya Jude, 36, in possession of five gas cylinders used to conceal 2.8 kilograms of Loud, a strong strain of cannabis, at Ogwashi-Uku, Aniocha South area of the state. 

Alcohol cartons

NDLEA operatives seized 5.80 kilograms of cocaine during a sting operation in Ekwusigo LGA of Anambra State, fitted inside nine cartons of Orijin Bitters in an attempt to present the herb drinks as normal items heading to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

An investigation led to the arrest of Nwabueze Felix Onyeka, a PhD student at the University of Putra, Malaysia, with four other suspects, including a cargo agent, driver, trader, and a man who supplied the cartons to conceal the illicit substances.

Soaps

In a massive operation, the agency intercepted over N6.2 billion worth of opioid pills and consignments of captagon, widely known as ‘Jihadi drug,’ following the arrest of a 49-year-old cross-border kingpin, Akinbile Kazeem Aikins, at the Lagos airport, who arrived from Accra, Ghana.

About 47,200 pills of the illicit amphetamine drug worth over N1.5 billion were discovered in a carton in his possession, concealed in local bathing soap, popularly known as “Ghana Soap.” The suspect told operatives that he was to deliver the parcels to the North.

False bottom of Luggages

In June, Iwebema Ogechi Peace, 38, was arrested by the agency at the departure hall of Terminal 2 of the Lagos airport after a large consignment of cocaine was discovered through credible intelligence in the false bottom of her luggage while travelling to Beijing, China.

The drugs had a combined weight of 7.5 kilograms. The 38-year-old claimed to be a businesswoman and said she travels to buy items for sale in Nigeria.

 Mobile accessories

The agency has intercepted several attempts to traffic drugs abroad concealed in mobile phone chargers. In July, operatives seized 1.2 kilograms of cocaine concealed in 25 pieces of phone chargers, with their internal components being removed, as the accessories were heading to Saudi Arabia from a courier company in Lagos.

Disposable hand glove cartons

Early this month, following a huge bust at the Lagos airport, 57.80 kilograms of Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis, was seized worth over N174 million and hidden inside cartons of disposable hand gloves from a consignment from Singapore.

Local Mortar

Operatives have also nabbed traffickers concealing cocaine in mortars.  

On July 30, 250 gams of cocaine was fitted into the base of a local mortar packed in a carton, which was set to be exported to China. The agency also discovered 500grams of the same Class A drug hidden in the false bottom of a backpack being shipped to Italy.
However, the NDLEA chairman, Brig-Gen. Buba Marwa (retd), has vowed to sustain the agency’s crackdown on drug cartels.