The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has rearrested an 83-year-old woman in Abia State, months after she and her daughter were convicted of drug offences and fined N200,000 each.
In a statement on Sunday by NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi, the woman, Uloma Sunday, was arrested at her home in Ite-Uzo, Umuaguma, Obingwa Local Government Area, on 7 October.
The agency stated that officers found methamphetamine and Colorado, a synthetic cannabinoid, concealed around her waist in a wrapper.
The NDLEA said her arrest followed intelligence reports that she was operating a drug joint where criminal suspects gathered and allegedly terrorised residents.
The agency revealed that Ms Sunday was previously arrested at the same address on 17 May 2025, alongside her 32-year-old daughter, Chisom Uchechi. 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 a N200,000 fine each. They paid the fines and were released.
The NDLEA did not say whether it charged Ms Sunday after her latest arrest.
South African woman arrested at Port Harcourt airport
In a separate operation, officers arrested a South African woman, Gebashe Sithandiwe Jessie, at the Port Harcourt International Airport with 30 parcels of cannabis known as Thai Loud, weighing 32.74 kilogrammes.
The parcels were concealed in two travelling bags. The NDLEA said Ms Jessie arrived from Thailand through Doha aboard a Qatar Airways flight.
She reportedly told investigators that she had previously trafficked drugs through other African countries and wanted to extend her operations to Port Harcourt.
NDLEA intercepts 354,000 tapentadol tablets in Lagos
At the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos, officers intercepted nine cartons containing 354,000 tapentadol tablets shipped from Pakistan.
The consignment arrived aboard a Royal Air Maroc flight on 29 September and was examined on 6 October. The tablets were labelled 250 milligrammes each, and the shipment weighed 307.2 kilogrammes, the agency said.
Officers also recovered 70 parcels of Colorado weighing 75.9 kilogrammes from six ‘Ghana-Must-Go’ bags in a shipment from the United Kingdom.
The shipment arrived on 29 September and was placed under surveillance, according to the NDLEA. A clearing agent, John Edrah, 54, was arrested on 30 September.
Taofiq Ajibola, 54, an Uber driver, was later arrested while collecting one of the bags at a logistics company in Mafoluku, Oshodi. Adetunji Adebayo and Kazeem Damola Dosunmu, 48, a clothing trader, were arrested when they arrived to collect the remaining bags.
The agency noted that Mr Ajibola identified a UK-based associate, Lukman Sa’idu, as the person who sent his consignment, while Mr Dosunmu named another UK-based man, known as Yusuf, as the sender of his drugs.
Cannabis and opioid seizures across states
The agency reported further arrests and seizures in Cross River, Edo, Ondo, Taraba, Kano, Kaduna and Lagos states.
In Cross River, officers arrested Adama Inuwa, 46, in Iyala Nkun village, Ikom Local Government Area, on 4 October. They recovered 181 bags of cannabis weighing 1,100 kilogrammes and 17.15 kilogrammes of cannabis seeds.
In Edo State, operatives intercepted a black Toyota Camry at Otuo, Owan East Local Government Area, on 5 October. The vehicle contained 1,049 blocks of compressed cannabis weighing 702.83 kilogrammes. Three men — Monday Orji, 52, Monday Lawal, 40, and Precious Uduegele, 20 — were arrested.
In a separate raid in Benin City, officers arrested Ojugo Mercy, 26, in Asoro, off Sakponba Road. The NDLEA said they recovered 989 grammes of Loud, 13 grammes of Colorado and 83 grammes of methamphetamine.
In Ondo State, officers arrested Happy Endurance, 21, in the Shasha area of Akure, recovering 29 bags of cannabis weighing 290 kilogrammes. They also raided an apartment in Oba-Ile, Akure, on the same day and arrested Tunde Adebayo, 42, with 35 bags of cannabis weighing 351 kilogrammes.
In Taraba State, officers working with soldiers arrested Abdulrasheed Mohamed, 31, and Abubakar Saidu, 37, in Chanchanji village, Wukari Local Government Area, on 9 October. The agency said they were found with 166,200 tablets of tramadol, each labelled 225 milligrammes and weighing 107 kilogrammes in total.
On the same day, officers conducting a stop-and-search operation along the Kano-Maiduguri Road arrested Yahaya Musa, 32. They recovered 24,990 tramadol capsules, 50,000 tablets of diazepam and 22,000 tablets of Exol-5.
In Kaduna State, officers on patrol along the Zaria-Kaduna Expressway arrested Mohammed Musa, 29, with 31 jumbo bags and 775 blocks of skunk weighing a combined 1,027 kilogrammes.
In Orile, Lagos, operatives arrested Musbau Balogun Adekunle on 6 October and recovered 32.51 kilogrammes of skunk and 52.65 kilogrammes of its seeds.
NDLEA recovers firearms in Jos
In Plateau State, officers raided the residence of Christian Chukwudi Uju, 45, on Rukuba Road, Jos, on 8 October.
The NDLEA said they recovered 47 grammes of methamphetamine, two pump-action rifles, a locally made gun, 199 live cartridges, five rounds of 7.62mm ammunition and one round of 9mm ammunition.
The agency did not state whether the firearms were linked to any other criminal activity.
NDLEA Chairman Buba Marwa commended officers involved in the operations, praising their “professionalism and intelligence-driven approach”.
He urged personnel to sustain their efforts against drug trafficking and abuse.
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