The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested two Brazil returnees who excreted 116 wraps of heroin and cocaine they ingested.

This is contained in a statement by the NDLEA spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, on Sunday in Abuja.

Mr Babafemi said they were excreted after days in observatory custody following their arrest by operatives of the NDLEA at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos.

He said one of the suspects was arrested on Tuesday, September 16, at Terminal 2 of the Lagos airport upon his arrival from Laos, Brazil, on an Ethiopian Airlines flight.

Mr Babafemi also said the suspect was taken for a body scan, which confirmed ingestion of illicit drugs.

According to him, the suspects had left Nigeria for Brazil on September 3 to courier the consignment to Lagos for a reward of $2,500 upon successful delivery.

“A swift follow-up operation was conducted at Eliata Hotel in the Amuwo Odofin area of Lagos. This is where Ofoma was instructed to meet Nweke Chuckwudi, who was designated to oversee the excretion of the drugs at the hotel and recover them.

“The 55-year-old Nweke was arrested in the process. A total of 111 wraps of heroin weighing 1.452 kilograms were egested in eight excretions by Ofoma,” he said.

Similarly, another Brazil returnee was arrested at the Lagos airport during the inward clearance of Ethiopian Airlines passengers from Brazil via Addis Ababa on Friday, September 19.

Mr Babafemi said the suspect was taken for a body scan, which confirmed illicit drug insertion, adding that under excretion observation, he expelled five big wraps of cocaine weighing 145 grams.

“In his statement, he confessed to have bought nine wraps of the class A drug in Brazil and inserted all into his anus, a process he claimed took him nearly two hours.

“During his transit through Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, he said he began to experience severe anal pain and decided to remove the wraps from 

his body.

“He stated that in an attempt to meet up with his connecting flight to Nigeria, he could only manage to reinsert seven wraps, after which he flushed the remaining two in a toilet,” he said.

Mr Babafemi said the suspect also revealed that while on board his flight to Nigeria, he felt pressed and uncomfortable, which compelled him to use the lavatory.

According to him, during the process, he expelled an additional two wraps, leaving him with only five wraps in his anus. He claimed to have been in the clothing business before travelling to Brazil in 2017.

“In 2020, he moved to the United States, where he was arrested for an immigration offence and was detained for over a year before being deported to Nigeria in 2022.

“In March 2025, he returned to Brazil, where he currently works, having already obtained a Brazilian residence permit,” Mr Babafemi said.

(NAN)