The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has uncovered a shocking attempt to traffic cocaine out of Nigeria — with the drugs cleverly concealed inside everyday items like lipsticks and property documents.

In a statement on Sunday, NDLEA revealed that its operatives at a courier company in Lagos made the bust on Thursday, July 3, 2025. Officers from the agency’s Directorate of Operations and General Investigation, stationed at the logistics firm, intercepted two suspicious packages.

A closer examination showed that one shipment, bound for the United Kingdom, contained 420 grammes of cocaine ingeniously packed into 84 pieces of lipsticks. Another parcel headed for Saudi Arabia had 280 grammes of cocaine hidden inside a Certificate of Occupancy (C of O) — an official property title document.

💥 Drug Kingpin Falls in Lagos

In a separate operation, NDLEA agents also arrested a notorious drug kingpin, Ajetsibo Emami, widely known by his alias ‘Warri Kinsman’. The bust happened on Saturday, June 28, in Ikeja, Lagos. His capture followed a three-day coordinated raid that dismantled his drug trafficking network and led to the arrest of three other suspects believed to be part of his family-run syndicate.

🚨 NDLEA’s Warning

The agency emphasized that it will continue to hunt down traffickers who use creative — but dangerous — means to smuggle hard drugs across borders. By hiding cocaine in cosmetics and official documents, traffickers hope to bypass checks, but NDLEA said its intelligence-led operations are now more focused than ever.

Nigeria remains a major transit hub for narcotics headed to Europe and the Middle East, with traffickers constantly devising new tricks. These recent arrests highlight both the scale of the problem and the growing success of NDLEA’s efforts to break these syndicates.

The agency has urged the public and logistics companies to stay vigilant and report any suspicious shipments or activities.