NDLEA Arrests 83-Year-Old Grandma A Year After Drug Conviction

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has rearrested an 83-year-old woman, Uloma Uchechi Sunday, with methamphetamine and Colorado in Abia State, barely a year after her conviction for drug-related offences.

The agency also arrested a South African woman with 32.74kg of cannabis at the Port Harcourt International Airport, Rivers State, as operatives recorded major drug seizures across several states.

NDLEA Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, disclosed this in a statement on Sunday. He said operatives arrested Uloma on October 7 at her residence in Ite-Uzo, Umuaguma, Obingwa Local Government Area of Abia State.

According to the statement, the octogenarian had quantities of methamphetamine and Colorado tied around her waist with a wrapper when operatives apprehended her.

The agency said her arrest followed intelligence reports alleging that she operated a drug joint that harboured criminal elements responsible for terrorising the community.

Uloma first ran into trouble with the law on May 17, 2025, when NDLEA operatives arrested her alongside her 32-year-old daughter, Chisom Uchechi, at the same residence.

The agency recovered 50 grammes of methamphetamine, 522 grammes of skunk, 260 grammes of fresh cannabis leaves and 12 grammes of tramadol during the operation.

Both women pleaded guilty and received 12-month prison sentences or the option of a N200,000 fine each. They paid the fines and secured their release.

However, Babafemi alleged that the elderly woman returned to the illicit drug trade after her release and established a drug joint at her residence.

In another operation, NDLEA operatives working with the Nigeria Customs Service arrested a South African national, Gebashe Sithandiwe Jessie, at the Port Harcourt International Airport in Omagwa, Rivers State.

The officers recovered 30 parcels of Thai Loud, a strain of cannabis weighing 32.74kg, concealed in two travelling bags.

Babafemi said Jessie travelled from Thailand through Doha aboard Qatar Airways flight QR1431. She reportedly confessed to trafficking drugs through other African countries before attempting to extend her operations to Port Harcourt.

Meanwhile, operatives at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos, intercepted 354,000 tablets of Tapentadol 250mg weighing 307.20kg.

The shipment arrived from Pakistan in nine cartons aboard a Royal Air Maroc flight on September 29. A joint examination on October 6 uncovered the drugs.

In a separate operation at the Lagos airport, officers discovered 70 parcels of Colorado weighing 75.90kg in six Ghana-Must-Go bags shipped from the United Kingdom.

The investigation led to the arrest of four suspects, including a 54-year-old clearing agent, John Edrah, who operatives apprehended on September 30.

They later arrested Taofiq Ajibola, 54, an Uber driver, while he collected one of the bags at a logistics company in Mafoluku, Oshodi. Adetunji Adebayo and 48-year-old clothing trader Kazeem Damola Dosunmu were also arrested when they allegedly came to collect the remaining five bags.

According to the NDLEA, Ajibola identified a UK-based associate, Lukman Sa’idu, as the sender of his consignment. Dosunmu, in turn, linked his shipment to another UK-based man identified as Yusuf.

In Cross River State, operatives arrested 46-year-old Adama Inuwa during a raid on Iyala Nkun village in Ikom Local Government Area on October 4.

The operation yielded 181 bags of cannabis weighing 1,100kg and another 17.15kg of cannabis seeds.

In Edo State, officers intercepted a black Toyota Camry carrying 1,049 blocks of compressed cannabis weighing 702.83kg at Otuo, Owan East Local Government Area, on October 5.

The agency arrested Monday Orji, 52, Monday Lawal, 40, and Precious Uduegele, 20, in connection with the seizure.

Another operation at Asoro, off Sakponba Road, Benin City, led to the arrest of 26-year-old Ojugo Mercy. Officers recovered 989 grammes of Loud, 13 grammes of Colorado and 83 grammes of methamphetamine.

In Ondo State, operatives tracked 21-year-old Happy Endurance to her hideout in the Shasha area of Akure on October 5. They recovered 29 bags of cannabis weighing 290kg.

A separate raid on an apartment in Oba-Ile, Akure, on the same day led to the arrest of 42-year-old Tunde Adebayo, with officers recovering another 35 bags of cannabis weighing 351kg.

In Taraba State, NDLEA operatives, supported by soldiers, arrested Abdulrasheed Mohamed, 31, and Abubakar Saidu, 37, at Chanchanji village in Wukari Local Government Area on October 9.

The officers recovered 166,200 tablets of Tramadol 225mg weighing 107kg.

On the same day, a stop-and-search operation along the Kano-Maiduguri Road led to the arrest of 32-year-old Yahaya Musa. The officers seized 24,990 capsules of tramadol, 50,000 tablets of diazepam and 22,000 tablets of Exol-5.

In Kaduna State, operatives patrolling the Zaria-Kaduna Expressway arrested 29-year-old Mohammed Musa with 31 jumbo bags and 775 blocks of skunk weighing a combined 1,027kg.

In Lagos, officers arrested Musbau Balogun Adekunle in Orile on October 6. They recovered 32.51kg of skunk and 52.65kg of cannabis seeds, bringing the total seizure to 85.16kg.

The agency also recovered firearms and ammunition during a raid on the residence of 45-year-old Christian Chukwudi Uju at Rukuba Road, Jos, Plateau State, on October 8.

The items seized included 47 grammes of methamphetamine, two pump-action rifles, one locally made gun, 199 live cartridges, five rounds of 7.62mm ammunition and one round of 9mm ammunition.

Beyond the arrests, the agency continued its War Against Drug Abuse sensitisation campaign in schools, religious centres, workplaces and communities.

The outreach included lectures at Progressive Grammar School, Tede, Oyo State; Ehugbo Technical College, Afikpo, Ebonyi State; Baptist High School, Lambata, Niger State; and Madarasatul Tarbiyatul Islamiya, Galangalan Tudun Wada, Kano State.

Other schools reached included Ipara Senior and Junior Community Secondary School, Badagry, Lagos State, and Manbahu Ridwanullah Nursery and Primary School, Olomore, Abeokuta, Ogun State.

NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), commended officers involved in the operations across Lagos, Rivers, Taraba, Kano, Kaduna, Edo, Cross River, Ondo and Plateau states.

Marwa praised their professionalism and intelligence-led approach, urging personnel nationwide to sustain the agency’s balanced strategy for tackling drug trafficking and abuse.