The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has dismantled a drug trafficking operation involving 76 wraps of cocaine destined for India, apprehending a 26-year-old nursing student, Esther Onyinyechi Uzodinma, in the process. Uzodinma, a 200-level student at Noida International University in Uttar Pradesh, was arrested at her hotel room in Sabon Garin Kano on Thursday, January 16, 2025.
The investigation began with the arrest of 31-year-old Cosmas Okorie along the Okene-Lokoja highway in Kogi State. Okorie, traveling from Lagos to Kano in a commercial bus, was found with an audio speaker concealing 76 pellets of cocaine weighing 1.34 kilograms. Under interrogation, he admitted that the drugs were meant for delivery to Uzodinma in Kano.
NDLEA operatives traced Okorie’s confession to Uzodinma, who later revealed her involvement with an Indian drug cartel. According to her statement, the cartel recruited her during her holiday break in Nigeria, promising a payment of $5,000 upon successfully smuggling the cocaine into India. She planned to ingest the pellets before boarding a Qatar Airways flight scheduled for Friday, January 17, 2025.
 has dismantled a drug trafficking operation involving 76 wraps of cocaine destined for India, apprehending a 26-year-old nursing student, Esther Onyinyechi Uzodinma, in the process.){kind=link}