“I Turned to Illicit Trade in 2017 After My Clothing and Shoe Business Went Down” – Drug Kingpin, Onyekwonike Elochukwu Sylvanus reveals

February 09, 2025

By Yinka Opeyemi

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has made a significant breakthrough in its fight against drug trafficking, intercepting two major drug kingpins at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, and the Port Harcourt International Airport (PHIA), Rivers State.

According to a statement by Femi Babafemi, the NDLEA’s Director, Media & Advocacy, one of the kingpins, Onyekwonike Elochuckwu Sylvanus, 30, was arrested at the Port Harcourt airport on Sunday, February 2, 2025.

Sylvanus, who uses dual identities to aid his cross-border movements, was found to have ingested 62 wraps of heroin, weighing 1.348 kilogrammes.

“He was subsequently taken for body scan which confirmed he ingested illicit drugs and thereafter placed under excretion observation during which he expelled a total of 62 wraps of heroin in five excretions,” the statement said.

Investigations revealed that Sylvanus alternates his two identities for different drug trafficking missions between Thailand, Pakistan, Iran, and West African countries.

He claimed to have gone full-time into the illicit drug trade in 2017 when his clothing and shoe business went down.

The second trafficker, James Herbert Chinoso, 48, was apprehended at MMIA on February 1, 2025, upon arrival from Madagascar via Addis Ababa. He excreted 63 wraps of heroin totaling 909g.

Chinoso admitted to turning to drug trafficking after his phone accessories business in Liberia collapsed.

“After a body scan confirmed illicit drug in his system, he was placed under excretion observation during which he egested 63 wraps of heroin with a total weight of 909 grams,” the statement continued.

In related developments, NDLEA operatives intercepted two parcels of 2.82 kilogrammes of Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis imported from the United States, at a courier firm in Lagos. Additionally, 80 ampoules of pentazocine injection, concealed in cartons and heading to Canada, were seized at a logistics company in Lagos.

In Kano, NDLEA operatives arrested two suspects, Usaini Salisu and Yahaya Mu’azu, with 15,396 pills of tramadol.

A female suspect, Choima Okeke, was also arrested with 27 blocks of skunk, weighing 15kg.

Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), commended the officers and men of MMIA, PHIA, DOGI, Kano, and Kogi Commands for their operational successes.