LAGOS, March 19 (Xinhua) -- Nigeria's anti-drug agency said Sunday that it had detained two members of a drug cartel operating between Nigeria, East Africa, and Europe at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos, the nation's economic hub.

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) said in a press statement Sunday that a team of its operatives at the airport made the arrest and foiled the attempts to traffic the drugs on March 13.

The agency said agents at the Lagos airport caught a member of the drug gang while they were checking in passengers on an Ethiopian Airlines flight from Malawi at the arrival hall. A search was conducted on him and it was discovered that one of his two bags had a false bottom.

"During the preliminary interview of the suspect, he confessed that a member of the syndicate was waiting at the airport car park to pick him up," the NDLEA said.

The NDLEA noted that a follow-up operation right away led to the arrest of another suspect, who was waiting to get the shipment of drugs. A proper search of the bag was conducted before the two suspects, which led to the recovery of 3 kg of heroin.

The agency added the drug syndicate networks operate between Nigeria, Malawi, Mozambique, and Europe.