NDLEA ARRESTS 83-YEAR-OLD WOMAN, SOUTH AFRICAN NATIONAL IN NATIONWIDE DRUG CRACKDOWN

By: Muftau Fatimo

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has rearrested an 83-year-old woman, Uloma Uchechi Sunday, for alleged drug-related offences, less than a year after she was convicted, while also arresting a South African national with 32.74kg of cannabis at the Port Harcourt International Airport.

The arrests were among several operations carried out by the agency across the country, involving the seizure of illicit drugs and pharmaceutical products, as well as the recovery of firearms and ammunition.

NDLEA spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, disclosed this in a statement on Sunday.

According to the statement, Uloma was arrested on Wednesday, October 7, 2026, at her residence in Ite-Uzo, Umuaguma, Obingwa Local Government Area of Abia State.

She was allegedly found with quantities of methamphetamine and Colorado concealed around her waist with a wrapper.

Babafemi said the arrest followed intelligence reports indicating that the octogenarian operated a notorious drug joint where criminal elements allegedly gathered and terrorised residents of the community.

The agency disclosed that Uloma was first arrested on May 17, 2025, alongside her 32-year-old daughter, Chisom Uchechi, at the same residence.

During the operation, NDLEA operatives reportedly recovered 50 grammes of methamphetamine, 522 grammes of skunk, 260 grammes of fresh cannabis leaves and 12 grammes of tramadol.

The agency said both women pleaded guilty and were sentenced to 12 months’ imprisonment or an option of a ₦200,000 fine each. They reportedly paid the fines and were released.

However, the NDLEA alleged that Uloma returned to the illicit drug trade after her release and subsequently established another drug joint.

At the Port Harcourt International Airport in Omagwa, Rivers State, NDLEA operatives, working alongside officers of the Nigeria Customs Service, arrested South African national Gebashe Sithandiwe Jessie.

The suspect was allegedly found with 30 parcels of Thai Loud, weighing 32.74kg and concealed in two travelling bags.

According to the statement, she arrived from Thailand through Doha aboard a Qatar Airways flight, QR1431.

The agency said she confessed to previously trafficking drugs through other African countries and disclosed that she was expanding her routes to Port Harcourt when she was arrested.

At the Import Shed of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Ikeja, Lagos State, operatives intercepted nine cartons of pharmaceutical products shipped from Pakistan aboard a Royal Air Maroc flight.

The consignment was placed under surveillance after arriving on September 29. A joint examination conducted on Tuesday, October 6, reportedly uncovered 354,000 tablets of Tapentadol 250mg, weighing 307.20kg.

In another operation at the Lagos airport, the agency intercepted a consolidated cargo from the United Kingdom containing 70 parcels of Colorado weighing 75.90kg.

The drugs were allegedly concealed in six Ghana-Must-Go bags that arrived on September 29.

A clearing agent, John Edrah, 54, was arrested on September 30, while an Uber driver, Taofiq Ajibola, 54, was apprehended while attempting to collect one of the bags at a logistics company in Mafoluku, Oshodi.

Two other suspects, Adetunji Adebayo and Kazeem Damola Dosunmu, 48, a clothing trader, were subsequently arrested while allegedly attempting to collect the remaining five bags.

Ajibola reportedly told investigators that the drugs had been sent by an associate based in the United Kingdom, identified as Lukman Sa’idu, while Dosunmu said his consignment came from another UK-based individual identified as Yusuf.

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

The operation reportedly led to the recovery of 181 bags of cannabis weighing 1,100kg, alongside 17.15kg of cannabis seeds.

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

Three suspects, identified as Monday Orji, 52; Monday Lawal, 40; and Precious Uduegele, 20, were arrested in connection with the seizure.

In another operation in the state, 26-year-old Ojugo Mercy was arrested at Asoro, off Sakponba Road, Benin City, with 989 grammes of Loud, 13 grammes of Colorado and 83 grammes of methamphetamine.

In Ondo State, NDLEA operatives arrested 21-year-old Happy Endurance at her hideout in the Shasha area of Akure on Monday, October 5, following surveillance operations.

The officers reportedly recovered 29 bags of cannabis weighing 290kg from her.

A separate raid on an apartment in Oba-Ile, Akure, the same day led to the arrest of 42-year-old Tunde Adebayo, with 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 Friday, October 9.

The suspects were allegedly found with 166,200 tablets of Tramadol 225mg, weighing 107kg.

Similarly, a stop-and-search operation along the Kano-Maiduguri Road in Kano State on October 9 led to the arrest of 32-year-old Yahaya Musa.

The agency said 24,990 tramadol capsules, 50,000 diazepam tablets and 22,000 tablets of Exol-5 were recovered from him.

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

At Orile, Lagos State, a suspect, Musbau Balogun Adekunle, was arrested on Tuesday, October 6, with 32.51kg of skunk and 52.65kg of cannabis seeds, bringing the total seizure to 85.16kg.

In Plateau State, NDLEA operatives raided the residence of 45-year-old Christian Chukwudi Uju at Rukuba Road, Jos, on Thursday, October 8.

The operation reportedly led to the recovery of 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.

Meanwhile, the agency continued its War Against Drug Abuse sensitisation campaign across schools, religious centres, workplaces and communities during the period under review.

The campaign included awareness programmes at Progressive Grammar School, Tede, Oyo State; Ehugbo Technical College, Afikpo, Ebonyi State; Baptist High School, Lambata, Niger State; Madarasatul Tarbiyatul Islamiya, Galangalan Tudun Wada, Kano State; Ipara Senior and Junior Community Secondary School, Badagry, Lagos State; and Manbahu Ridwanullah Nursery and Primary School, Olomore, Abeokuta, Ogun State, among other institutions.

Commending officers and men of the agency’s commands in Lagos, the two international airports, Taraba, Kano, Kaduna, Edo, Cross River, Ondo and Plateau states for the operations, NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), urged them to sustain their efforts.

Marwa also called on officers across the country to maintain a balanced approach to the agency’s drug control activities.