NDLEA Arrests Two Grandpas for Allegedly Supplying Drugs to Teenage Students

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested two elderly men, aged 84 and 75, for allegedly supplying illicit drugs to secondary school students in Abia State, as the agency intensified nationwide operations against drug trafficking and abuse.

The arrests were among a series of operations that also led to the interception of drug consignments from China, the seizure of narcotics concealed in ladies’ handbags meant for export, and the arrest of a wanted couple linked to a major drug case in Ekiti State.

According to a statement issued on Sunday by the Director of Media and Advocacy at the NDLEA Headquarters, Femi Babafemi, 75-year-old Godwin Obulunbiya Obiora was arrested in Umuahia after intelligence reports allegedly linked him to the sale of illicit substances to students and other residents from his patent medicine store.

NDLEA operatives who searched the premises reportedly recovered 4.64 kilogrammes of opioids, including tramadol and diazepam.

The agency also arrested 84-year-old pensioner, Godfrey Orji, who was allegedly caught supplying drugs to two teenage students of Saint Silas Secondary School in Old Umuahia.

Babafemi said school security personnel apprehended the suspect before handing him and the students over to the police, who later transferred the matter to the NDLEA.

One of the students, a 15-year-old Senior Secondary School II pupil, reportedly told investigators that Orji supplied him with the drugs, which he consumed and also sold to fellow students.

While the two elderly suspects are expected to face prosecution, the students have been placed on counselling and rehabilitation programmes.

Beyond Abia, the agency recorded several other seizures across the country.

In Lagos, operatives intercepted a 9.5kg consignment of ADB Chminaca, a synthetic cannabinoid classified as a dangerous new psychoactive substance, which had arrived from China and was concealed in a carton at a courier company.

Another operation at a logistics firm led to the recovery of 300 grammes of Loud, a potent strain of cannabis hidden inside ladies’ handbags intended for shipment to Dubai.

NDLEA officers also raided the residence of a wanted drug dealer, Lukman Badmus, also known as Lukman Ogombo, in the Ogombo area of Ajah, Lagos, where narcotics were recovered.

A follow-up operation at his wife’s shop on Lagos Island resulted in the seizure of additional codeine syrup, drug paraphernalia and 42 compressed blocks of skunk weighing 22.5kg.

The agency said an attempt by the suspect’s wife, Aisha Saraki, to dispose of some of the exhibits in a toilet during the raid was thwarted.

In Kogi State, NDLEA operatives intercepted a 33-year-old suspect, Tochukwu Onah, along the Okene-Lokoja highway while travelling from Lagos to Abuja with 1.03kg of methamphetamine concealed in custard containers.

A wanted couple, James Tony Chukwudi and James Kehinde, who had been on the run since March in connection with the seizure of 117kg of skunk in Ekiti State, were also arrested in Efon-Alaaye after months of investigation.

In Oyo State, a raid on a residence in the Dangote area of Elekara, Oyo town, led to the arrest of 75-year-old Tudun Olubiyi and two other suspects.

Operatives recovered 118 jumbo bags containing 1,416kg of skunk hidden under sawdust.

The agency also recorded major seizures in Edo State, where officers destroyed large cannabis plantations in forest locations and arrested suspects linked to the illicit cultivation and distribution of the substance.

According to the statement, over 1,700kg of skunk was destroyed in Khagba Forest in Owan East Local Government Area, while another operation at Ebora Camp in Esan South Local Government Area resulted in the destruction of more than 2,400kg of cannabis.

Apart from enforcement activities, the NDLEA said its commands across the country sustained anti-drug awareness campaigns under the War Against Drug Abuse initiative.

The sensitisation programmes were held in schools and communities across Ekiti, Kano, Nasarawa, Katsina, Anambra and Rivers states, among others.

NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), commended officers involved in the arrests and seizures, describing the operations as a demonstration of the agency’s commitment to reducing drug supply while promoting public awareness against substance abuse.

He urged personnel nationwide to sustain the momentum and intensify efforts to combat drug trafficking and abuse across the country.