NDLEA Rearrests 83-Year-Old Woman for Drug Trafficking, Seizes 2.8 Tonnes of Cannabis

– South African woman arrested with 32.74kg cannabis at PH airport

Michael Olugbode in Abuja

An 83-year-old woman previously convicted for drug trafficking has been arrested again with methamphetamine and Colorado, as the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) records major drug seizures across several states, including the arrest of a South African woman with 32.74 kilogrammes of cannabis at Port Harcourt airport.

The octogenarian, Uloma Uchechi Sunday, was arrested last Wednesday 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 NDLEA spokesman, Femi Babafemi, in a statement on Sunday said the octogenarian’s arrest followed intelligence indicating she operated a drug joint allegedly patronised by criminal elements terrorising the community.

Sunday had previously been arrested on May 17, 2025, alongside her 32-year-old daughter, Chisom Uchechi, at the same residence.

The agency said they were found with 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 a fine of N200,000 each. They paid the fines and were released.

According to the NDLEA, the older woman subsequently returned to the drug trade and allegedly established a drug joint at her residence.

In a separate operation, operatives of the agency, working with the Nigeria Customs Service, arrested a South African national, Gebashe Sithandiwe Jessie, at the Port Harcourt International Airport, Omagwa, Rivers State, with 30 parcels of Thai Loud, a cannabis strain weighing 32.74 kilogrammes.

The suspect, who arrived from Thailand through Doha aboard a Qatar Airways flight, allegedly concealed the drugs in two travelling bags.

The agency said she admitted to previously trafficking drugs through other African countries and attempting to expand her route to Port Harcourt.

The arrests formed part of a series of interdiction operations in which the NDLEA recovered large consignments of illicit drugs at airports, along highways and in residential locations across Lagos, Taraba, Kano, Kaduna, Edo, Cross River, Ondo and Plateau states.

At the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, operatives intercepted 354,000 tablets of tapentadol, each reportedly dosed at 250mg, weighing 307.2 kilogrammes.

The shipment, comprising nine cartons from Pakistan aboard a Royal Air Maroc flight, had been placed under surveillance after arriving on September 29. A joint examination last Tuesday uncovered the consignment.

In another operation at the airport, officers recovered 70 parcels of Colorado weighing 75.9 kilogrammes from six Ghana-Must-Go bags in a consolidated cargo shipment from the United Kingdom.

The agency said a clearing agent, John Edrah, 54, was arrested on September 30. Other suspects subsequently arrested were Taofiq Ajibola, 54, an Uber driver; Adetunji Adebayo; and Kazeem Dosunmu, 48, a clothing trader.

Ajibola allegedly disclosed that the drugs had been sent by a UK-based associate, Lukman Sa’idu, while Dosunmu reportedly identified another UK-based individual, Yusuf, as the source of his consignment.

In Cross River State, NDLEA operatives raided Iyala Nkun village in Ikom Local Government Area on October 4, arresting Adama Inuwa, 46, and recovering 181 bags of cannabis weighing 1,100 kilogrammes, alongside 17.15 kilogrammes of cannabis seeds.

In Edo State, officers intercepted a black Toyota Camry at Otuo, Owan East Local Government Area last Monday. The vehicle was allegedly conveying 1,049 blocks of compressed cannabis weighing 702.83 kilogrammes.

Three suspects – Monday Orji, 52; Monday Lawal, 40; and Precious Uduegele, 20 – were arrested in connection with the seizure.

Another suspect, Ojugo Mercy, 26, was arrested at Asoro, off Sakponba Road, Benin City, with 989 grammes of Loud, 13 grammes of Colorado and 83 grammes of methamphetamine.

In Ondo State, operatives traced 21-year-old Happy Endurance to a hideout in the Shasha area of Akure last Monday, recovering 29 bags of cannabis weighing 290 kilogrammes.

On the same day, another raid at an apartment in Oba-Ile, Akure, led to the arrest of Tunde Adebayo, 42, with 35 bags of cannabis weighing 351 kilogrammes.

In Taraba State, two suspects, Abdulrasheed Mohamed, 31, and Abubakar Saidu, 37, were arrested at Chanchanji village in Wukari Local Government Area last Friday, with 166,200 tablets of tramadol, each reportedly dosed at 225mg and weighing 107 kilogrammes.

A separate stop-and-search operation along the Kano-Maiduguri Road in Kano State on the same day led to the arrest of Yahaya Musa, 32, with 24,990 capsules of tramadol, 50,000 tablets of diazepam and 22,000 tablets of Exol-5.

In Kaduna State, operatives patrolling the Zaria-Kaduna Expressway arrested Mohammed Musa, 29, with 31 jumbo bags and 775 blocks of skunk weighing a combined 1,027 kilogrammes.

At Orile, Lagos, another suspect, Musbau Balogun Adekunle, was arrested last Tuesday with 32.51 kilogrammes of skunk and 52.65 kilogrammes of its seeds, bringing the total seizure to 85.16 kilogrammes.

Meanwhile, a raid on the residence of Christian Uju, 45, at Rukuba Road, Jos, Plateau State, last Thursday resulted in the recovery of methamphetamine, firearms and ammunition.

The agency said officers seized 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.

Beyond the seizures, the NDLEA said its commands and formations sustained public enlightenment campaigns under its War Against Drug Abuse initiative, targeting students, worshippers, workers and communities across the country.

The NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. 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 what he described as professional and intelligence-driven operations.

Marwa urged personnel nationwide to sustain the agency’s balanced approach to drug control, combining enforcement with preventive education and public sensitisation.