NDLEA catches 25kg of meth hidden in cereal from South Africa

Operatives from the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have seized a 25.05-kilogram shipment of methamphetamine. The drugs were hidden in packs of different breakfast cereals that came from South Africa through Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Ikeja, Lagos State.

In this latest operation, the agency arrested a 56-year-old man who has lived in South Africa for over 20 years using a stolen identity. This information was shared in a statement on Sunday by the agency’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi.

The suspect, whose real name is Chinedu Onwude, was caught on Wednesday, November 11, 2026, at the arrival hall of Terminal II of the Lagos airport when he returned from South Africa.

"The meth suspect, Omokan Isaac Babatope, whose real name is Chinedu Onwude, was arrested on Wednesday, 11th November 2026, at the arrival hall of Terminal II of the Lagos airport upon his return from South Africa.

"A thorough search of his two travelling boxes led to the recovery of twenty-five parcels of a white crystalline substance, which tested positive for methamphetamine with a total weight of 25.05kg.

"The parcels had been carefully concealed inside packs of assorted breakfast cereals and cereal-based food products in a bid to beat security screening," the statement partly read.

The statement revealed that Onwude has lived in South Africa for more than 24 years and holds both Nigerian and South African passports.

"The 56-year-old suspect holds both Nigerian and South African passports and has been resident in South Africa for over 24 years.

"During a preliminary interview, he confessed that he adopted the name Omokan Isaac Babatope after using forged documents to gain entry into South Africa and had continued to use that identity ever since.

"He further stated that he was contracted by a South Africa-based man, Obiora Okoye, to deliver the illicit consignment in Nigeria for a fee of twenty thousand South African rand (R20,000)," the statement added.

Brig-Gen. Mohamed Marwa (retd.), the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, praised the operatives for their sharpness and professionalism. He noted that the "interception of methamphetamine concealed in breakfast cereals shows that no concealment method, however clever, can outsmart the determination of the agency’s operatives."