The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has rearrested an 83-year-old woman, Uloma Uchechi Sunday, for alleged drug trafficking, less than a year after she and her daughter were convicted of drug-related offences.
The agency said Uloma was arrested on Wednesday, October 7, at her residence in Ite-Uzo, Umuaguma, Obingwa Local Government Area of Abia State, where operatives allegedly found consignments of methamphetamine and Colorado concealed around her waist with a wrapper.
According to a statement issued on Sunday by the NDLEA Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, the arrest followed intelligence reports alleging that the octogenarian operated a drug joint frequented by criminal elements terrorising the community.
Babafemi recalled that NDLEA operatives had arrested Uloma and her 32-year-old daughter, Chisom Uchechi, at the same residence on May 17, 2025.
During that operation, the agency said, officers recovered 50 grammes of methamphetamine, 522 grammes of skunk, 260 grammes of fresh cannabis leaves and 12 grammes of tramadol.
Both women pleaded guilty and were sentenced to 12 months’ imprisonment or an option of a ₦200,000 fine each. They paid the fines and were released, according to the statement.
The NDLEA alleged that Uloma resumed drug trafficking after her release and subsequently established a drug joint.
South African woman arrested at Port Harcourt airport
In a separate operation, NDLEA operatives arrested a South African national, Gebashe Sithandiwe Jessie, at the Port Harcourt International Airport, Omagwa, Rivers State, for allegedly importing 30 parcels of Thai Loud weighing 32.74 kilogrammes.
The agency said the cannabis strain was concealed in two travelling bags. Babafemi added that Jessie travelled from Thailand through Doha, Qatar, aboard Qatar Airways flight QR1431.
According to the statement, the suspect confessed to previously trafficking drugs through other African countries before attempting to expand her route to Port Harcourt.
354,000 tramadol tablets intercepted in Lagos
At the import shed of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos, NDLEA operatives intercepted 354,000 tablets of Tapentadol 250mg weighing 307.20 kilogrammes in a shipment from Pakistan.
Babafemi said the consignment arrived aboard a Royal Air Maroc flight on September 29 and was placed under surveillance. A joint examination on Tuesday, October 6, led to the discovery of the tablets packed in nine cartons.
In another operation at the Lagos airport, officers intercepted 70 parcels of Colorado weighing 75.90 kilogrammes. The drugs were concealed in six Ghana-Must-Go bags within a consolidated cargo shipment from the United Kingdom.
The shipment was monitored after its arrival on September 29. A clearing agent, John Edrah, 54, was arrested on September 30, while an Uber driver, Taofiq Ajibola, 54, was apprehended while collecting one of the bags at a logistics company in Mafoluku, Oshodi.
The agency said Adetunji Adebayo and Kazeem Damola Dosunmu, 48, a clothing trader, were subsequently arrested when they arrived to collect the remaining five bags.
Babafemi said Ajibola identified a UK-based associate, Lukman Sa’idu, as the sender of the drugs, while Dosunmu claimed his consignment had been sent by another UK-based individual identified as Yusuf.
Major cannabis seizures in Cross River, Edo
In Cross River State, operatives arrested 46-year-old Adama Inuwa at Iyala Nkun village, Ikom Local Government Area, on Sunday, October 4, following surveillance.
The operation led to the recovery of 181 bags of cannabis sativa weighing 1,100 kilogrammes and 17.15 kilogrammes of cannabis seeds, according to the agency.
In Edo State, officers intercepted a black Toyota Camry conveying 1,049 blocks of compressed cannabis weighing 702.83 kilogrammes at Otuo, Owan East Local Government Area, on Monday, October 5.
Three suspects — Monday Orji, 52; Monday Lawal, 40; and Precious Uduegele, 20 — were arrested in connection with the seizure.
In a separate raid at Asoro, off Sakponba Road, Benin City, operatives arrested 26-year-old Ojugo Mercy and recovered 989 grammes of Loud, 13 grammes of Colorado and 83 grammes of methamphetamine.
Cannabis recovered in Ondo, Lagos
In Ondo State, a 21-year-old suspect, Happy Endurance, was arrested at her hideout in the Shasha area of Akure on October 5, with 29 bags of cannabis weighing 290 kilogrammes.
A separate raid on an apartment in Oba-Ile, Akure, on the same day led to the arrest of 42-year-old Tunde Adebayo, with 35 bags of cannabis weighing 351 kilogrammes.
In Lagos, the agency reported the arrest of Musbau Balogun Adekunle in Orile on Tuesday, October 6. The operation yielded 32.51 kilogrammes of skunk and 52.65 kilogrammes of cannabis seeds, bringing the total seizure to 85.16 kilogrammes.
Tramadol, other drugs seized in Taraba, Kano, Kaduna
In Taraba State, NDLEA operatives, working alongside soldiers, arrested Abdulrasheed Mohamed, 31, and Abubakar Saidu, 37, at Chanchanji village, Wukari Local Government Area, on Friday, October 9.
The suspects were allegedly found with 166,200 tablets of tramadol 225mg weighing 107 kilogrammes, the statement said.
Along the Kano-Maiduguri Road in Kano State, a stop-and-search operation on October 9 led to the arrest of 32-year-old Yahaya Musa. Operatives recovered 24,990 capsules of tramadol, 50,000 tablets of diazepam and 22,000 tablets of Exol-5.
In Kaduna State, officers on patrol along the Zaria-Kaduna Expressway arrested 29-year-old Mohammed Musa with 31 jumbo bags and 775 blocks of skunk weighing a combined 1,027 kilogrammes.
Firearms, ammunition recovered in Plateau
In Plateau State, operatives raided the residence of 45-year-old Christian Chukwudi Uju at Rukuba Road, Jos, on Thursday, October 8, recovering methamphetamine, firearms and ammunition.
The items seized 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.
NDLEA intensifies anti-drug sensitisation
Beyond its enforcement operations, the NDLEA said it continued its War Against Drug Abuse sensitisation campaign, delivering lectures to students and staff of schools in Oyo, Ebonyi, Niger, Kano, Lagos and Ogun states.
The institutions reached included Progressive Grammar School, Tede, Oyo State; Eghugo Technical College, Afikpo, Ebonyi State; Baptist High School, Lambata, Niger State; and Ipara Senior and Junior Community Secondary School, Badagry, Lagos State.
Commending personnel involved in the operations, NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), praised officers of the Lagos, Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Port Harcourt International Airport, Taraba, Kano, Kaduna, Edo, Cross River, Ondo and Plateau Commands.
Babafemi said Marwa commended the officers for their professionalism and intelligence-driven operations, urging them to sustain what he described as the agency’s balanced approach to drug control.
