NDLEA Arrests 101-Year-Old Woman Over Drug Sales, Seizes N4.4bn Loud
Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, have arrested a 101-year-old great-grandmother, Esther Ogunmabo, over alleged cannabis sales in Ogun State.
NDLEA spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, disclosed this in a statement, saying Ogunmabo was arrested on August 15 in Ilisan, Ogun State.
The centenarian was reportedly found with 90 grams of skunk, a strain of cannabis, packaged in sachets for retail distribution.
According to the agency, Ogunmabo told investigators that she turned to drug sales after fire destroyed her provisions shop.
She reportedly said one of her daughters, who lives in Lagos, supplied the cannabis every four days for her to sell in small quantities.
NDLEA Chairman, Brig Gen Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), directed that the elderly suspect be granted bail and placed on counselling because of her advanced age.
Her daughter was, however, arrested over her alleged involvement in supplying the drugs.
In a separate operation, NDLEA operatives in Akwa Ibom intercepted a wooden boat allegedly transporting illicit drugs to fishing settlements in Cameroon.
Three suspects were arrested during the August 21 operation, with 42.622kg of narcotics recovered from them.
The suspects were identified as Etima Effiong Eekpo, 29; Otobong Eyoh Etukudoh, 33; and Kingsley Effiong John, 27.
Eekpo was allegedly found with 1.120kg of skunk, while Etukudoh had 42.060kg of the same substance.
John allegedly possessed 435 grams of skunk and 20 grams of cocaine concealed inside a large wrap of edible cassava fufu.
Meanwhile, NDLEA disclosed that it recorded its first-ever seizure of illicit drugs shipped from Thailand through Nigeria’s maritime corridor.
The agency intercepted two containers containing cannabis indica, popularly known as Loud, at the Apapa and Lekki ports in Lagos.
The combined street value of the seized Loud was estimated at more than N4.4 billion.
At Apapa Port, officials recovered 1,090.5kg of Thai Loud from a container declared to contain dry fish, rice, vehicle spare parts, turmeric soap and inverter batteries.
The consignment was packed in 54 cartons containing 2,181 sachets, each weighing 500 grams.
At Lekki Deep Sea Port, another 400kg of Thai Loud was recovered from a container monitored by the agency’s Marine Special Operations Unit.
Four of the seven pallets in the container were found to contain the drugs, while three others carried 798 rims of A4 paper used as cover.
In Abuja, NDLEA operatives intercepted three waybill packages containing 24,410 tramadol capsules inside a Hummer bus travelling from Enugu to Zuba.
A follow-up operation in Niger State led to the arrest of the alleged owner of the consignment, 28-year-old Sunday Eze, in Kontagora.
Eze was subsequently transferred to Abuja for further investigation.
In Ondo State, NDLEA operatives destroyed 10,000kg of cannabis cultivated across four hectares of forest in Ijare, Ifedore Local Government Area.
The operation followed the earlier arrest of three suspected cannabis cultivators at the location.
In another operation in the state, officials recovered 210kg of skunk and a Toyota Camry at Ita-Ogbolu, Akure North Local Government Area.
The vehicle allegedly belongs to Sylvester Dibiagu Anthony, who is currently at large.
In Kwara State, NDLEA operatives intercepted a Toyota Starlet without a registration number along the Ogbomosho-Ilorin Expressway.
A search of the vehicle led to the recovery of 1.325kg of methamphetamine and quantities of cannabis sativa.
A 22-year-old suspect, Muhammadu Usman, was arrested in connection with the seizure.
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