The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency –NDLEA— has arrested a makeup artist and a university student in a fresh crackdown on youth-led drug trafficking rings across Nigeria.

The makeup artist, a 43-year-old, Adekoya Mary, who claimed she was travelling to India for fibroid surgery, has been arrested by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos, for attempting to smuggle 2.20 kilograms of cocaine concealed in her suitcase.

The Agency released a statement on Sunday, through its spokesman, Femi Babafemi, who revealed that Adekoya was placed under surveillance and allowed to check in her luggage before being apprehended at the boarding gate of her Qatar Airways flight to India via Doha.

Upon inspection, NDLEA officers found two large parcels of cocaine factory-fitted inside the walls of her suitcase.

Babafemi confirmed the suspect confessed to embarking on the trip under the guise of seeking medical attention but was in fact, motivated by financial incentives.

“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.

“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 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 Sango area of Ogun state while he lives at Igbe Laara in Igbogbo area of Ikorodu, Lagos state”, the statement added.

In another operation in Kwara State, Babafemi said a 22-year-old student of Kwara State Polytechnic, Olotin Nifemi, was arrested on June 19, along Kwara Poly Road, Ilorin, with 1kg of skunk.

She was identified as a notorious dealer supplying drugs to other students between campuses in Kwara

Babafemi said, “A 22-year-old female Student of Kwara State Polytechnic, Olotin Nifemi, notorious for selling illicit substances to other students, was on Thursday June 19 arrested at her base along Kwara Poly Road, Ilorin, with 1kg skunk.”

Both suspects are currently in custody and will be charged in accordance with the NDLEA Act.