By Nkechi Eze
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has re-arrested an 83-year-old woman, Uloma Uchechi Sunday, for alleged drug trafficking, barely a year after she was convicted for a similar offence, as the agency intercepted international drug shipments and seized large consignments of illicit substances in coordinated operations across several states.
The operations also led to the arrest of a South African woman allegedly trafficking 32.74 kilogrammes of cannabis through the Port Harcourt International Airport, the interception of 354,000 tablets of Tapentadol at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, and the recovery of assorted firearms and ammunition during a drug raid in Plateau State.
According to an official statement signed by the Director, Media and Advocacy, NDLEA, Femi Babafemi, the 83-year-old woman was arrested on Wednesday, October 7, 2026, at her residence in Ite-Uzo, Umuaguma, Obingwa Local Government Area of Abia State, with quantities of methamphetamine and Colorado, a synthetic cannabinoid, allegedly tied around her waist with a wrapper.
The statement said her re-arrest followed credible intelligence indicating that she operated a notorious drug joint allegedly frequented by criminal elements terrorising the community.
Babafemi explained that Uloma was first arrested on May 17, 2025, alongside her 32-year-old daughter, Chisom Uchechi, with 50 grammes of methamphetamine, 522 grammes of skunk, 260 grammes of fresh cannabis leaves and 12 grammes of tramadol.
Both women reportedly pleaded guilty and were sentenced to 12 months’ imprisonment or a fine of N200,000 each. They paid the fines and were released by the court.
The agency alleged that the octogenarian subsequently returned to the illicit drug trade and established a drug joint where she allegedly accommodated dangerous characters.
In a separate operation at the Port Harcourt International Airport, Omagwa, Rivers State, NDLEA operatives, working in collaboration with the Nigeria Customs Service, arrested a South African national, Gebashe Sithandiwe Jessie, with 30 parcels of Thai Loud, a strain of cannabis, weighing 32.74 kilogrammes.
The suspect reportedly arrived from Thailand through Doha aboard Qatar Airways flight QR1431, with the drugs concealed in two travelling bags.
According to the agency, she confessed to previously trafficking drugs through other African countries before attempting to expand her operations to Port Harcourt.
At the Import Shed of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos, operatives also intercepted nine cartons of pharmaceutical products imported from Pakistan aboard a Royal Air Maroc flight.
The shipment, which arrived on September 29, was placed under surveillance before a joint examination on October 6 uncovered 354,000 tablets of Tapentadol 250mg weighing 307.20 kilogrammes.
In another operation at the Lagos airport, NDLEA operatives intercepted a consolidated cargo from the United Kingdom containing 70 parcels of Colorado weighing 75.90 kilogrammes, concealed in six Ghana-Must-Go bags.
The agency arrested a 54-year-old clearing agent, John Edrah, on September 30, followed by Taofiq Ajibola, also 54, an Uber driver, who was apprehended while collecting one of the bags at a logistics company in Mafoluku, Oshodi.
Adetunji Adebayo and Kazeem Damola Dosunmu, 48, a clothing trader, were subsequently arrested when they arrived to collect the remaining five bags.
The statement said Ajibola identified a UK-based associate, Lukman Sa’idu, as the sender of the drugs, while Dosunmu allegedly linked his consignment to another UK-based individual identified as Yusuf.
Beyond the airport seizures, NDLEA operatives recorded major drug recoveries in Cross River, Edo, Ondo, Taraba, Kano, Kaduna and Lagos states.
In Cross River State, operatives raided Iyala Nkun village in Ikom Local Government Area on October 4, arresting 46-year-old Adama Inuwa and recovering 181 bags of cannabis sativa weighing 1,100 kilogrammes, alongside 17.15 kilogrammes of cannabis seeds.
In Edo State, a black Toyota Camry intercepted at Otuo, Owan East Local Government Area, on October 5 was found conveying 1,049 blocks of compressed cannabis weighing 702.83 kilogrammes. Three suspects, identified as Monday Orji, 52; Monday Lawal, 40; and Precious Uduegele, 20, were arrested in connection with the seizure.
Another raid in Asoro, off Sakponba Road, Benin City, led to the arrest of 26-year-old Ojugo Mercy, with 989 grammes of Loud, 13 grammes of Colorado and 83 grammes of methamphetamine.
In Ondo State, operatives arrested 21-year-old Happy Endurance at her hideout in the Shasha area of Akure on October 5, recovering 29 bags of cannabis weighing 290 kilogrammes.
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 351 kilogrammes.
In Taraba State, NDLEA operatives, supported by soldiers, arrested Abdulrasheed Mohamed, 31, and Abubakar Saidu, 37, at Chanchanji village, Wukari Local Government Area, on October 9. The suspects were allegedly found with 166,200 tablets of Tramadol 225mg weighing 107 kilogrammes.
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 with 24,990 capsules of tramadol, 50,000 tablets of diazepam and 22,000 tablets of Exol-5.
In Kaduna State, operatives on patrol along the Zaria-Kaduna Expressway arrested 29-year-old Mohammed Musa and recovered 31 jumbo bags of skunk and 775 blocks of the same substance, with a combined weight of 1,027 kilogrammes.
In Orile, Lagos, another suspect, Musbau Balogun Adekunle, was arrested on October 6 with 32.51 kilogrammes of skunk and 52.65 kilogrammes of cannabis seeds, bringing the total seizure to 85.16 kilogrammes.
Meanwhile, NDLEA operatives recovered firearms and ammunition during a raid on the residence of 45-year-old Christian Chukwudi Uju along Rukuba Road, Jos, Plateau State, on October 8.
Items recovered 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.
The agency also sustained its War Against Drug Abuse sensitisation campaign, conducting enlightenment programmes in schools, worship centres, workplaces and communities across the country.
The outreach activities included lectures 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 others.
The Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), commended officers and men of the Lagos, Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Port Harcourt International Airport, Taraba, Kano, Kaduna, Edo, Cross River, Ondo and Plateau commands for their professionalism and intelligence-driven operations.
Marwa urged personnel across the country to sustain the agency’s balanced approach to drug control, combining enforcement operations with preventive education and public awareness campaigns.
