The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested an 80-year-old ex-convict, Ayuba Ashiru, an 82-year-old grandmother, Mrs. Uloma Uchechi Sunday, and her 32-year-old daughter, Chisom Uchechi, in separate drug raids across the country, with illegal substances valued at over N3.2 billion intercepted.
In a statement issued on Sunday by the Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, the agency revealed that Ashiru, a convicted drug dealer who served a 10-year sentence from 2014 to 2024, was apprehended again on May 14 at Barazana Street, Dogarawa, Sabon Gari Local Government Area of Kaduna State.
NDLEA operatives found 2.3 kilograms of skunk, neatly packaged for retail, in his possession. Ashiru confessed to being in the drug trade for over four decades.
Similarly, in Umuaguma Ntigha Uzor village, Abia State, operatives raided the home of Mrs. Sunday on May 17, recovering methamphetamine, tramadol, skunk, and N130,600 in cash.
Her daughter, Chisom, was arrested alongside her. The octogenarian admitted that they continued the drug business after the death of her son, who had initiated it.
In another major interception, NDLEA operatives, in collaboration with the Nigeria Customs Service and other agencies, uncovered three million pills of tapentadol and carisoprodol—valued at N2.1 billion—at the Port Harcourt port complex in Onne on May 14.
The drugs were found in a container flagged based on intelligence.
A similar bust at the Apapa seaport in Lagos on May 13 yielded 169,800 bottles of codeine syrup worth over N1.1 billion.
The shipment, which originated from India, was falsely declared as vehicle parts.
In Kwara State, two suspects, Abdulwahab Quadir and Abdulraheem Ismail, were arrested with 199,200 tramadol pills.
At Favour Lodge, Ilorin, NDLEA officers arrested Ibrahim Oladimeji Abdulateef, an HND 1 student of Kwara State Polytechnic, with 650 grams of Loud cannabis already portioned for sale in 149 cups.
Further arrests include: 250 grams of cocaine disguised in a female headwrap intercepted by NDLEA’s Directorate of Operations and General Investigation (DOGI) at a Lagos courier company.
In Niger State, 316 blocks of skunk weighing 143kg were seized from a vehicle on Mokwa-Jebba road, while separate operations led to arrests of suspects with significant cannabis consignments.
In Nasarawa, 60-year-old Welman Kengbo was arrested with 594.8kg of skunk.
On Lekki/Epe expressway, Lagos, Toheeb Oyenuga was caught with 67.5kg of the same substance.
In Taraba and Jigawa states, multiple arrests were made, with seizures of tramadol, diazepam, and skunk.
Notably, a 29-year-old suspect, Ismail Isah, was intercepted with an AK-47 rifle and two magazines hidden in a maize sack along the Abuja–Kaduna highway. He has been handed over to relevant security agencies for further investigation.
Meanwhile, NDLEA’s anti-drug advocacy, under the War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) initiative, continued with sensitisation lectures across schools in Kano, Kaduna, Katsina, Osun, and Rivers states.
Commending the successful operations, NDLEA Chairman/Chief Executive, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), lauded the agency’s commands across the federation for striking a balance between drug supply reduction and demand reduction in their ongoing fight against narcotics.
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