Convicted Drug Kingpin Initiates Another Cocaine Export To London

An attempt by a convicted drug kingpin, Olashupo Michael Oladimeji, to export 1.10 kilogrammes of cocaine concealed in processed cassava granules, popularly known as garri to London, United Kingdom (UK), on a Virgin Atlantic flight, has been thwarted by National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) operatives at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos.

Olashupo, is at present serving a five-year jail term at the Ikoyi Correctional Centre, Lagos, after NDLEA arrested him in 2025 in connection with a case of unlawful conspiracy to export 17.90kg cocaine, and was successfully prosecuted, convicted and sentenced in charge number FHC/L/925C/2025, by a Federal High Court in Lagos.

The convict, who is the chief executive officer of Dimeji Express Logistics, located at 20, Omilade Street, Mafoluku, Oshodi, Lagos, initiated the latest scheme from behind the prison wall to export the 1.10kg cocaine, using his company.

NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi said his lid was, however, uncovered on Thursday, February 12, when NDLEA officers at the Export Shed of the Lagos Airport intercepted a consignment of compressed block of cocaine, hidden in a sack of garri which was further packed inside a carton.

“A staff member of Dimeji Express Logistics, Adedeji Yusuf Gbolahan, who presented the consignment for export, was promptly arrested. Investigations revealed that Oladimeji initiated the trafficking scheme from prison and directed Yusuf to pick the consignment at a location in Oshodi,” the NDLEA stated.

In another development, a China-based Nigerian businessman, Ibeanu Vincent Chukwudulue and two Angolan citizens: Mbandu Martins Makiadi and Ngoma Wilson Fernando have excreted a total of 236 wraps of cocaine following their arrest by operatives of the NDLEA at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja and Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano, respectively.

The 34-year-old Ibeanu was arrested on Wednesday, February 4, 2026, while on board a Qatar Airways flight 1432, from Kano to China en route Abuja/Doha.

Acting on credible intelligence, NDLEA operatives at the Abuja Airport demanded that the suspect be deboarded, following which he was taken for a body scan. The result confirmed the suspect ingested an illicit drug.

He was thereafter placed under observation during which he excreted a total of 52 pellets of cocaine that weighed 735.95 grammes. In his statement, Ibeanu said he was into business on Lagos Island before relocating to Guangzhou, China in 2024.

The duo of Mbandu Martins Makiadi, 50, and Ngoma Wilson Fernando, 52, both Angolans were intercepted on Wednesday, February 4, at the screening point of the Departure Hall of Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano, during the outward clearance of passengers going to Istanbul, Turkey via Addis Ababa on Ethiopian Airlines flight ET940.

When they were taken for a body scan, they tested positive for ingesting an illicit drug. As a result, they were kept under observation for possible excretion. While Mbandu excreted a total of 76 wraps weighing 920 grammes in seven excretions, Ngoma expelled 108 pellets that weighed 1.33 kilogrammes in five excretions.

During an interview, the suspects who hail from Hoji Ya Henda in Luanda, the capital of Angola, claimed they were recruited by a Luanda-based automobile spare parts dealer who promised to pay them $3,000 each upon successful delivery of the consignments in Turkey.