The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a 34-year-old Ugandan woman, Farida Nansubuga, for allegedly attempting to smuggle 1.15 kilogrammes of cocaine from Nigeria to Uganda.
Nansubuga was arrested at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos, on Tuesday, November 3, while preparing to board a flight to Uganda.
The agency said 87 wraps of cocaine were recovered from her pelvic region, where they had allegedly been strapped beneath two layers of underwear.
In a statement on Sunday, the NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, said the suspect arrived in Nigeria on October 29 with members of her church for a prayer session at the Synagogue Church of All Nations in the Ikotun-Egbe area of Lagos State.
Babafemi said the other members of her delegation had returned to Uganda after the prayer session, but Nansubuga remained in Nigeria to collect the cocaine on behalf of a friend identified as Joy, who lives in Uganda.
According to the agency, she was intercepted during a joint passenger screening exercise involving NDLEA operatives and aviation security personnel at Terminal 2 of the airport.
Babafemi said preliminary investigations indicated that a contact in Nigeria had arranged a vehicle to convey the suspect to a hotel on the morning of her scheduled departure, where an unidentified man allegedly handed her the drugs.
The suspect reportedly told investigators that she had been instructed to conceal the cocaine beneath her clothing to evade airport security checks.
She also claimed that she stayed behind after the prayer session to collect the consignment on behalf of Joy, who resides in Uganda.
Nansubuga reportedly said no definite payment had been agreed, but she expected to receive at least $1,000 after successfully delivering the drugs in Uganda.
The NDLEA Chairman, Brig-Gen Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), described the arrest as a reminder of how drug cartels allegedly exploit religious activities and international travel to recruit couriers.
Marwa commended the officers involved in the operation and urged personnel across the agency’s commands to sustain efforts to combat drug trafficking and substance abuse.
