NDLEA Nabs British-Nigerian Granny With 13kg Cocaine Hidden in Plantain Peels

Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) arrested a 67-year-old Nigerian-British grandmother at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos after discovering 13 kilograms of cocaine concealed inside plantain peels packed into her luggage, the agency confirmed on Saturday, July 5, 2026.

NDLEA Chairman Buba Marwa said the suspect, whose identity was withheld pending arraignment, had arrived on an international flight and was attempting to pass through the green channel at the airport when an alert NDLEA officer flagged her luggage for a detailed search. The search revealed the cocaine hidden within the peels of dried plantain, a concealment method the agency described as reflecting the increasing creativity of drug traffickers attempting to exploit the cover of ordinary food items.

NDLEA Disrupts Two More Drug Networks

In separate enforcement actions reported the same day, NDLEA also intercepted two Malaysia-bound cocaine shipments hidden inside Orijin bitters cartons at Lagos Apapa Port and arrested a PhD student identified as the mastermind of the scheme. A 75-year-old man was also arrested in connection with the Apapa seizure, adding to what Marwa described as an increasingly diverse age and demographic profile of drug trafficking suspects arrested in Nigeria.

The chairman said the NDLEA’s intelligence-driven approach had resulted in multiple record seizures at Lagos ports in recent weeks, including the earlier confiscation of 4,959 kilograms of Canadian Loud cannabis worth N12.3 billion and a subsequent 6,778 kilogram seizure at Apapa, bringing the combined value of drug seizures at Lagos ports in June and early July to well above N25 billion.

Lagos Airport Security Tightened

Furthermore, the arrest of a 67-year-old woman highlights that drug trafficking networks increasingly use elderly and less-suspicious couriers to reduce the likelihood of scrutiny. NDLEA said it had enhanced its profiling protocols to ensure that no demographic category received a lower level of scrutiny than any other. Notably, the airport arrests occurred alongside flooding that disrupted parts of Lagos this weekend, adding logistical pressure on emergency services across the city. Consequently, NDLEA’s July enforcement drive has delivered some of the most significant drug seizures of the year.