Drug Crackdown: Grandma, Ex-Convict Nabbed as NDLEA Seizes N3.2bn Opioids

A massive nationwide operation by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has led to the arrest of two octogenarians, an 80-year-old ex-convict and an 82-year-old grandmother, alongside several others, and the interception of opioids worth over N3.2 billion.

In Kaduna State, 80-year-old Ayuba Ashiru, a previously convicted drug dealer who served a 10-year jail term, was rearrested on Wednesday, May 14th, with 2.3kg of skunk. He confessed to 46 years in the illicit drug trade.

Abia State saw the arrest of 82-year-old Mrs. Uloma Uchechi Sunday and her 32-year-old daughter, Chisom Uchechi, on Saturday, May 17th. A raid on their home in Umuaguma Ntigha Uzor village yielded methamphetamine, tramadol, skunk, and N130,600 in cash. The grandmother admitted they continued the business after her son’s death two years prior.

Significant seizures were made at seaports. At the Port Harcourt Ports complex in Onne, Rivers State, three million pills of tapentadol and carisoprodol worth N2.1 billion were intercepted on Wednesday, May 14th. Similarly, at the Apapa seaport in Lagos on Tuesday, May 13th, 169,800 bottles of codeine syrup valued at over N1.1 billion were discovered concealed in a shipment from India.

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In Kwara State, 199,200 tramadol pills were recovered, leading to the arrest of Abdulwahab Quadir and Abdulraheem Ismail on Friday, May 16th. A raid on Favour Lodge in Ilorin resulted in the arrest of Ibrahim Oladimeji Abdulateef, an HND 1 polytechnic student caught with 650 grams of Loud cannabis packaged for sale to other students.

Further interceptions included 250 grams of cocaine concealed in a female headgear destined for Australia at a Lagos courier company on Friday, May 16th. In Niger State, 143kg of skunk was seized on the Mokwa-Jebba road on Thursday, May 15th, resulting in the arrest of Idris Kamal, 35. On the same day, Emmanuel Hassan, 26, was arrested with 14.3kg of Loud at Chachi junction, leading to the apprehension of the owner, Bello Aliyu (alias Liti), 39.

Other arrests include Welman Kengbo, 60, nabbed with 594.8kg of skunk in Nasarawa State, and Oyenuga Toheeb, arrested in Lagos with 67.5kg of skunk. In Taraba State, Shafiu Ismail, 22, was caught with 5,350 tramadol and diazepam pills, while Tijjani Mohammed, 35, was arrested with 198kg of skunk in Jigawa State, both on Thursday, May 15th.

Adding a disturbing dimension, NDLEA operatives on patrol along the Abuja-Kaduna highway on Friday, May 16th, intercepted Ismail Isah, 29, with an AK 47 rifle and two magazines hidden in a maize sack. He will be transferred to the appropriate security agency.

NDLEA Chairman, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), commended the officers for their efforts in both drug supply and demand reduction across the nation. The agency’s War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) social advocacy campaign also continued with sensitization lectures in schools across several states.