A Ugandan woman who reportedly travelled to Nigeria with members of the Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN) for a religious programme has been arrested with 1.15 kilogrammes of cocaine allegedly concealed around her private parts.
The 34-year-old suspect, identified as Farida Nansubuga, was arrested at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, on November 3 while preparing to board a flight to Uganda.
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) said 87 wraps of cocaine were recovered from her body after operatives became suspicious during a passenger-screening exercise at the airport.
Photographs released by the agency showed Nansubuga wearing a black T-shirt bearing the portrait of late SCOAN founder, Prophet T.B. Joshua, alongside the inscription, “PROPHET TB JOSHUA”.
The clothing has drawn attention to her reported connection with the church, although it does not independently establish that she was an officially recognised evangelist.
According to the NDLEA, Nansubuga arrived in Nigeria on October 29 with other members of her church delegation for a prayer programme at SCOAN in Ikotun-Egbe, Lagos.
While the other members reportedly returned to Uganda after the programme, she allegedly remained behind to collect a drug consignment arranged by an associate identified as Joy, who lives in Uganda.
The agency said preliminary investigations revealed that Joy had connected her to a Nigerian contact who arranged transportation to a hotel on the morning of her scheduled departure.
At the hotel, an unidentified man allegedly handed her the cocaine and instructed her to strap it around her body beneath her clothes to evade airport security.
She reportedly expected to receive at least $1,000 for successfully delivering the drugs in Uganda, although no definite payment had been agreed.
NDLEA spokesman, Femi Babafemi, said her arrest followed a joint passenger-screening operation involving agency operatives and aviation security personnel at Terminal 2 of the Lagos airport.
A preliminary body search raised suspicion, prompting officers to transfer her to a designated private search room, where the 87 wraps weighing 1.150 kilogrammes were recovered.
The arrest was among several drug enforcement operations across the country in which the agency intercepted 750,000 tablets of Tapentadol, valued at about N900 million, dismantled a network allegedly importing chemicals for synthetic cannabis production and recovered hundreds of kilogrammes of illicit drugs.
The NDLEA has not indicated that SCOAN or its leadership had any knowledge of the alleged cocaine trafficking operation.
