Ugandan Woman In Nigeria For Church Crusade Arrested With 87 Cocaine Wraps
Farida Nansubuga, 34, intercepted at Lagos airport with 1.15kg of cocaine strapped around her pelvic region
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a 34-year-old Ugandan woman, Farida Nansubuga, with 87 wraps of cocaine weighing 1.15 kilogrammes, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos. The suspect was arrested on Tuesday, November 3, 2026, while preparing to board a Ugandan airline flight to her home country. The NDLEA disclosed the arrest in a statement issued on Sunday by its Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi.
According to the NDLEA, Nansubuga arrived in Nigeria on October 29, 2026, with members of her church for a prayer session at The Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN), in the Ikotun-Egbe area of Lagos. She came to Nigeria with members of her church for spiritual renewal at a prayer session in Lagos. But while the rest of her delegation returned to Uganda after the prayer session, she stayed behind, allegedly to collect the illicit consignment on behalf of a friend identified simply as Joy, who resides in Uganda.
Her plan came crashing down at the MMIA, Ikeja, Lagos, when operatives of the NDLEA intercepted her at the screening point of Terminal 2 during a joint passenger screening exercise with aviation security personnel. A body search pointed to a substance concealed around her pelvic region, after which she was taken to a designated private search room for a secondary search. The search led to the recovery of 87 wraps of cocaine with a gross weight of 1.150 kilogrammes, strapped around her pelvic region and held in place beneath two layers of underwear.
During preliminary interrogation, Nansubuga claimed she stayed behind to collect the consignment for Joy, who had linked her with a contact in Nigeria. She claimed no fee was fixed but that she expected not less than $1,000 on successful delivery of the consignment. The NDLEA Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), described the incident as a reminder of how drug cartels exploit religious activities and travel to recruit couriers, and commended officers of the MMIA and other commands for the arrests and seizures.
