Temisan Olaifa
A 43-year-old female make-up artist, Adekoya Adebukonla Mary, who claimed to be travelling to India for a fibroid surgery, has been arrested by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos, after 2.20 kilograms of cocaine were discovered factory-fitted in the walls of her bag.
The suspect was said to have been arrested on Monday, 16th June, 2025 based on credible intelligence.
According to a statement issued by the agency’s Director, Media & Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, under surveillance, Adekoya was allowed to check in her luggage and arrested at the point of boarding her Qatar Airways flight to India via Doha.
When her luggage was searched, two large parcels of cocaine weighing 2.20kg were found concealed in the walls of the suitcase she was carrying.
He said, “In her statement, she claimed she embarked on the trip for financial benefits but under the pretext of going to India for surgery to remove a fibroid from her stomach.
“Further investigation revealed the suspect was recruited and funded by a drug baron currently at large, Akeem Ayinde Adekanbi, who owns Rockford Hotel located in the Sango area of Ogun state, while he lives at Igbe Laara in the Igbogbo area of Ikorodu, Lagos state.
“At a courier company in Lagos, NDLEA operatives of the Directorate of Operation and General Investigation on Thursday, 19th June, intercepted a shipment of sewn female dresses containing 1.3kg Loud, a strong strain of cannabis, going to Bahrain, while at another courier firm the previous day, Wednesday 18th June, operatives uncovered 850grams of cocaine concealed in cloth hangers heading to Australia.”
