NDLEA arrests 101-year-old great grandma in Ogun

…intercepts cocaine in fufu

National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a 101-year-old great grandmother for dealing in illicit drug, intercepted cocaine concealed in edible cassava flour popularly known as fufu, and the seized large consignments of Loud, a synthetic cannabis valued at over N4.4 billion at the Apapa and Lekki ports in Lagos.

A statement by the spokesman of the NDLEA, Mr Femi Babafemi on Sunday said, operatives of the Agency, on 15th August 2026, arrested a 101-year-old woman, Esther Ogunmabo, in Ilisan, Ogun, with retail sachets of skunk, a strain of cannabis weighing 90 grams, which she claims she sells to locals.

The centenarian told operatives that she resorted to the illicit drug trade after her provisions shop was razed by fire, adding that one of her daughters, who resides in Lagos, arranges the supply of the substance to her every four days, which she in turn sold in bits.

The Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA, Brig-Gen Mohamed Marwa (Rtd) has however directed that the suspect be granted bail and placed on counselling because of her advanced age, while her daughter has been arrested.

In a related development, NDLEA operatives in Akwa Ibom state acting on credible intelligence, on Friday, intercepted a wooden boat on the high seas conveying illicit drugs to fishing settlements in the Republic of Cameroon. Three suspects who were arrested on board the boat, which was heading to Ine Isu, Ine Mbah and Ine Ikot Itie Udung fishing ports in Cameroon, include: Etima Effiong Eekpo, caught with 1.120kg skunk; Otobong Eyoh Etukudoh, who had 42.060kg of skunk in his possession and 27-year-old Kingsley Effiong John, who was found with 20grams of cocaine cleverly concealed inside a large wrap of edible cassava fufu, alongside 435grams of skunk. A total of 42.622kg of narcotics was recovered from the trio.

In the nation’s maritime space, the statement said, the Agency recorded its first-ever seizure of illicit drugs shipped from Thailand through the maritime corridor, following the interception of two containers of cannabis indica, also known as Loud, at the Apapa and Lekki ports, with a combined street value put at over N4.4 billion.

Both containers were loaded at the Port of Laem Chabang, Thailand, underscoring the emergence of a new trafficking route being exploited by drug syndicates to smuggle synthetic cannabis into the country.

At the Apapa Port, a container, declared to be conveying dry fish, rice, vehicle spare parts, turmeric soap and inverter batteries, was found, during a joint examination of the shipment on Friday 21st August by NDLEA, Customs and others, to contain 1,090.5kg of Thai Loud packed in 54 cartons comprising 2,181 sachets of 500 grams each.

At the Lekki Deep Sea Port, a similar container, which had been placed on the Agency’s watchlist and monitored by its Marine Special Operations Unit, was jointly examined on 19th August. Of the seven pallets found in the container wrapped in black nylon, four were confirmed to be laced with Thai Loud, yielding 96 cartons made up of 400 parcels weighing a total of 400kg. The remaining three pallets contained 798 rims of A4 paper, which had been used as cover for the consignment.

In the Federal Capital Territory Abuja, Babafemi said, NDLEA operatives on Saturday, intercepted three waybill packages containing 24,410 pills of tramadol capsules inside a hummer bus travelling from Enugu to Zuba. A follow-up operation conducted in Niger State led to the arrest of the owner of the consignment, Sunday Eze in Kontagora, after which he was transferred to Abuja.

Operatives in Ondo State on 19th August raided a cannabis farm at Ijare forest, Ifedore Local Government Area, following the earlier arrest of three suspected cannabis planters at the same location on 16th August. The team destroyed a total of 10,000kg of skunk cultivated across four hectares of the forest.

In a separate operation in the state, operatives same day at Ita-Ogbolu, Akure North LGA, recovered 210kg skunk and a Toyota Camry car with registration number AGL 223 JH belonging to Sylvester Dibiagu Anthony, who is currently at large.

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In Kwara state, NDLEA operatives on patrol along the Ogbomosho-Ilorin expressway, Ilorin on Friday, intercepted a Toyota Starlet car without a registration number. A search of the vehicle led to the recovery of 1.325kg of methamphetamine, wrapped in black nylon bags, alongside quantities of cannabis sativa. One suspect, Muhammadu Usman was arrested in connection with the seizure.

A 65-year-old woman, Adebayo Kaosarat, was also arrested at Akobo-Ojuirin area of Ibadan, Oyo state on Friday with a cocktail of substances comprising 1.795kg of Scottish Loud, 1.66kg of tramadol, 600g of codeine syrup, 125g of diazepam and 50g of flunitrazepam, totalling 4.68kg.

A raid at Hadeija road, Kano, on 17th August led to the arrest of Chibuzor Madueke with 98 blocks of skunk weighing 73.3kg recovered from him, while a similar operation by NDLEA operatives at Seme, Badagry area of Lagos led to the arrest of three family members: Nasiru Tijjani, Moshood Tijjani and Salami Tijjani at Ashipa area, near the Seme border, with 48kg of skunk.

In Abia state, NDLEA officers on Thursday, raided the residence of Ikechukwu Anthony Iwuno at Umuobia Olokoro area of Umuahia South LGA, where 14.4kg Loud, 2.3kg Colorado, 386grams of tramadol and 134grams of rohypnol were recovered.

With the same vigour, Babafemi said, Commands and formations of the Agency across the country continued their War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitization activities to schools, worship centres, work places and communities among others in the past week.

While commending the officers and men of Ogun, Apapa, Lekki, Seme, Akwa Ibom, Ondo, Oyo, Kwara, Kano, Abia and FCT Commands for the various successful operations, Marwa enjoined them and their colleagues across the country to continue with the current balanced approach to the drug control efforts of the Agency.