NDLEA arrests widow for trafficking cocaine with fake pregnancy

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has arrested a 50-year-old widow and fashion designer, Mrs. Ifeoma Henrietta Ezewuike, for attempting to traffic 1.3 kilograms of cocaine using a fake pregnancy disguise.

Ezewuike, who runs a fashion outfit, Golden Star Creation, in the Okota area of Lagos, was apprehended at a bus terminal in Jibowu, Yaba, on Friday, August 22, 2025, while attempting to deliver the drug consignment to customers in Abuja.

A statement released by the agency’s spokesman, Femi Babafemi, said a follow-up operation at her residence in Ago Palace Way, Okota, led to the recovery of 200 grams of cutting agent used in processing cocaine.

Babafemi said in her statement to investigators, Ezewuike, a mother of one, claimed she inherited the drug trade from her late husband, who died two years ago, despite being in the fashion business for over 20 years.

A 50-year-old widow and fashion designer, Mrs. Ifeoma Henrietta Ezewuike, has been arrested by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) over an attempt to traffic 1.3 kilograms of cocaine, using fake pregnancy as a façade to escape scrutiny and detection.

“The widow who is a mother of one and proprietress of Golden Star Creation, a fashion outfit in Ago palace way, Okota, Lagos, was arrested at a bus terminal in Jibowu, Yaba area of the state on Friday, 22nd August 2025, while attempting to move the cocaine consignment to customers in Abuja.

“A follow-up operation at her house in the Ago palace area led to the recovery of 200 grams of cutting agent used in the production of a strain of cocaine. In her statement, Ezewuike claimed she inherited the criminal trade from her husband, who died two years ago, while she has been in the fashion business for 20 years, ” the statement partly read.

In related operations, Babafemi said NDLEA operatives intercepted 90 parcels of Loud, a strain of cannabis weighing 48.6kg, concealed in three cartons of kitchen sinks imported from the United States.

He said the seizure was made at a courier company in Lagos on Tuesday, August 19

“Not less than 90 parcels of Loud, a strain of cannabis weighing 48.6kg, imported from the United States of America and concealed in three cartons of kitchen sink were intercepted at a courier company in Lagos on Tuesday, 19th August by NDLEA officers of the Directorate of Operations and General Investigation, ” Babafemi said.

In Adamawa, he said NDLEA operatives acting on credible intelligence on Friday, 22nd August, raided the home of a notorious drug dealer, Idris Garba, who scaled the fence to escape arrest while one of his associates, Boniface Nnaji, 55, who attempted the same, was caught in the act at Rumde Baru area of Yola South.

“Recovered from the premises include a black Toyota Thundra jeep marked FST-885-CZ driven to Yola by Nnaji to supply Garba 354,480 pills of tramadol 225mg, 250mg and others as well as a Toyota Yaris car with registration number DSA 776 AA”, he added.

In Kano, Babafemi said the duo of Buhari Ibrahim, 25, and Mansur Musa, 24, were nabbed at Zangon Ungogo, with 5,850 capsules of pregabaline on Tuesday, 19th August, while a total of 452,070 pills of opioids were recovered from the home of a suspect Rabilu Mukhtar, who is at large, at Rangaza, Ungogo LGA, just as Buhari Idris, 35, was arrested at Tashan Rami area of the state with 140 litres of codeine syrup, both on the same Tuesday.

“Fewer than 7,000 capsules of tramadol were seized from Adamu Yusuf, 29, along Zaria-Kano road, Kwanar Dangora area of the state on Saturday, 23rd August”, he added.

In Abuja, he said two dispatch riders were arrested for distributing illicit substances.

According to the statement, similar crackdowns were recorded in Taraba, Edo, Delta, Ondo, and Ekiti states, where NDLEA teams destroyed large cannabis farms and warehouses.