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.
NDLEA operatives apprehended Nansubuga on November 3, 2026, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos during a routine screening exercise. Officers discovered 87 wraps of cocaine concealed around her pelvic region beneath two layers of underwear as she prepared to board a flight to Uganda.
The agency’s spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, disclosed that Nansubuga arrived in Nigeria on October 29 alongside members of her church delegation for a religious programme at the Synagogue Church of All Nations in Ikotun, Lagos. While the other members of the delegation returned to Uganda after the programme, she remained in Nigeria to collect the illegal substance for an associate identified as Joy.
According to the NDLEA, a Nigerian contact reportedly arranged her transportation to a hotel, where an unidentified man handed her the cocaine. The suspect subsequently concealed the wraps beneath her clothing in preparation for the journey.
During questioning, Nansubuga told investigators that her contact instructed her to hide the drugs around her private parts to avoid detection by airport security personnel. She also disclosed that she expected to receive at least $1,000 for successfully delivering the consignment, although the parties did not agree on a specific payment.
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The arrest followed a joint screening operation involving NDLEA operatives and aviation security personnel at the airport.
Reacting to the development, NDLEA Chairman, Brigadier-General Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), warned that drug trafficking networks increasingly exploit religious activities and international travel to recruit unsuspecting or willing couriers.
Marwa thus described the incident as another example of how criminal networks manipulate religious journeys to advance their illegal operations, stressing the need for increased vigilance among travellers and religious organisations.
