NDLEA intercepts 25kg meth hidden in breakfast cereal from South Africa

Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency have intercepted a 25.05-kilogramme consignment of methamphetamine concealed in packs of assorted breakfast cereals imported from South Africa through the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos State.

In its latest operation, the agency arrested the 56-year-old trafficker who has lived in South Africa for over 20 years under a stolen identity.

This was disclosed in a statement issued on Sunday by the agency’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi.

The trafficker, whose real name is Chinedu Onwude, was arrested on Wednesday, November 11, 2026, at the arrival hall of Terminal II of the Lagos airport upon his return from South Africa.

“The meth suspect, Omokan Isaac Babatope, whose real name is Chinedu Onwude, was arrested on Wednesday, 11th November 2026, at the arrival hall of Terminal II of the Lagos airport upon his return from South Africa.

“A thorough search of his two travelling boxes led to the recovery of twenty-five parcels of a white crystalline substance, which tested positive for methamphetamine with a total weight of 25.05kg.

“The parcels had been carefully concealed inside packs of assorted breakfast cereals and cereal-based food products in a bid to beat security screening,” the statement partly read.

According to the statement, Onwude has lived in South Africa for more than 24 years, and holds both Nigerian and South African passports.

“The 56-year-old suspect holds both Nigerian and South African passports and has been resident in South Africa for over 24 years.

“During a preliminary interview, he confessed that he adopted the name Omokan Isaac Babatope after using forged documents to gain entry into South Africa and had continued to use that identity ever since.

“He further stated that he was contracted by a South Africa-based man, Obiora Okoye, to deliver the illicit consignment in Nigeria for a fee of twenty thousand South African rand (R20,000),” the statement added.

In another operation, the anti-narcotics agency arrested an American citizen, Greene Khiree, with over a 33.95kg shipment of Loud, a potent strain of cannabis, from Thailand.

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“Also, on Wednesday, 11th November, acting on credible intelligence, NDLEA operatives at the MMIA intercepted a 28-year-old American citizen, Greene Da’monte Khiree, who arrived in Lagos aboard an Emirates Airline flight from Thailand via Dubai.

“The suspect, who was placed under discreet surveillance upon arrival, was observed abandoning his two checked-in bags before attempting to exit the airport with only his carry-on luggage. He was promptly apprehended at the airport car park.

“A search of the two abandoned bags, both bearing his name tag, revealed sixteen parcels of Loud in each, totalling thirty-two parcels with a combined weight of 33.95 kilograms. A tracking device was also recovered from the bags. The suspect, a native of Savannah, Georgia, USA, who claimed he has lived in Thailand since October 2025, where he plays professional basketball, said he came to Nigeria on holiday to build networks for his basketball career.

“A forensic examination of his mobile phone revealed information pointing to his knowledge of and involvement in the drug trafficking activity,” the statement read.

Among other successful operations nationwide, the NDLEA operatives, on Tuesday, November 10, arrested a 33-year-old man, Taiwo Aderoju, in an intelligence-led operation at Ebute Metta, where 119.71kg of cannabis sativa was recovered from him.

In Kaduna State, the agency said its operatives, on Monday, November 9, raided Sabon Garin Kangin, where they busted a factory used for the local fabrication of firearms and arrested a 45-year-old man, Sagiru Musa.

Items recovered from the factory include seventeen locally made Dane guns, two pistols, twenty-five Dane gun pipes and other materials used in manufacturing firearms.

On Saturday, November 14, “a joint operation in the Ajah area of the state led to the recovery of 78.8kg of cannabis; 2.5 litres of skuchies; 6.8 litres of codeine syrup; 23 grams of Rohypnol; 478 grams of tramadol; 10.6kg of nitrous oxide and 714 grams of pregabalin from a silver Toyota Sienna abandoned by a suspect who fled on sighting the operatives.”

This is even as officers on patrol at Jere, along the Abuja-Kaduna expressway on Friday, November 13, intercepted a 31-year-old woman, Tabara Dauda, conveying 196 AK-47 live rounds of ammunition and N675,000 cash, among other operations.

“With the same vigour, Commands and formations of the agency across the country continued their War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation activities to schools, worship centres, workplaces and communities, among others, in the past week,” the agency said, including WADA enlightenment lectures to students and staff of Poko Community Primary School, Poka, Epe, Lagos; Community Grammar School, Eyinni, Ibadan, Oyo State; Iganmode Grammar School, Ota, Ogun State; among others.

The Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig-Gen. Mohamed Marwa (retd.), lauded the operatives for their vigilance and professionalism, noting that the “interception of methamphetamine concealed in breakfast cereals shows that no concealment method, however ingenious, can beat the resolve of the agency’s operatives.”