The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a 101-year-old woman, Esther Ogunmabo, for allegedly dealing in cannabis in Ogun State, while operatives also intercepted cocaine concealed in edible cassava flour, popularly known as fufu, in Akwa Ibom State.
The agency disclosed this in a statement issued on Sunday by its Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi.
According to the NDLEA, Ogunmabo, a great-grandmother, was arrested on Saturday, August 15, 2026, at Ilisan in Ogun State, with 90 grammes of skunk, a strain of cannabis, packed in retail sachets.
The agency said the centenarian told investigators that she started selling the illicit drug after her provisions shop was destroyed by fire.
She reportedly disclosed that one of her daughters, who lives in Lagos, supplied her with the substance every four days, which she subsequently sold in small quantities to local customers.
Following the development, NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), directed that the 101-year-old suspect be granted bail and subjected to counselling because of her advanced age.
Her daughter, however, was arrested in connection with the alleged drug trade.
In Akwa Ibom, NDLEA operatives acting on intelligence intercepted a wooden boat on the high seas on Friday, August 21, while allegedly conveying illicit drugs to fishing settlements in Cameroon.
Three suspects were arrested aboard the boat, which was reportedly heading towards Ine Isu, Ine Mbah and Ine Ikot Itie Udung fishing ports in Cameroon.
They were identified as 29-year-old Etima Effiong Eekpo, who was found with 1.120kg of skunk; 33-year-old Otobong Eyoh Etukudoh, who had 42.060kg of skunk; and 27-year-old Kingsley Effiong John, who was allegedly carrying 20 grammes of cocaine concealed inside a large wrap of edible cassava fufu.
John was also found with 435 grammes of skunk.
The agency said a total of 42.622kg of illicit drugs was recovered from the three suspects.
The NDLEA also announced what it described as its first seizure of illicit drugs shipped from Thailand through the maritime corridor, following the interception of two containers containing cannabis indica, popularly known as Loud, at the Apapa and Lekki ports in Lagos.
The agency placed the combined street value of the seized consignments at more than N4.4 billion.
It said both containers were loaded at the Port of Laem Chabang in Thailand, indicating the emergence of a new route allegedly being exploited by international drug trafficking syndicates.
At Apapa Port, a container declared to contain dry fish, rice, vehicle spare parts, turmeric soap and inverter batteries was examined on Friday, August 21, by NDLEA operatives, the Nigeria Customs Service and other relevant agencies.
The search allegedly uncovered 1,090.5kg of Thai Loud packed in 54 cartons containing 2,181 sachets of 500 grammes each.
At the Lekki Deep Sea Port, another container that had been placed on the NDLEA watchlist was jointly examined on Wednesday, August 19.
The agency said four of the seven pallets in the container, which were wrapped in black nylon, contained 96 cartons made up of 400 parcels of Thai Loud weighing 400kg.
The remaining three pallets contained 798 reams of A4 paper allegedly used to conceal the drugs.
In the Federal Capital Territory, NDLEA operatives on Saturday, August 22, intercepted three waybill packages containing 24,410 pills of 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, according to the agency.
In Ondo State, NDLEA operatives raided a cannabis farm at Ijare Forest in Ifedore Local Government Area on Wednesday, August 19.
The operation followed the arrest of three suspected cannabis cultivators at the same location on August 16.
The agency said 10,000kg of skunk cultivated across four hectares of the forest was destroyed.
In a separate operation at Ita-Ogbolu in Akure North Local Government Area, operatives recovered 210kg of skunk and a Toyota Camry with registration number AGL 223 JH.
The vehicle allegedly belongs to Sylvester Dibiagu Anthony, who is currently at large.
In Kwara State, NDLEA operatives patrolling the Ogbomosho-Ilorin Expressway on Friday, August 21, intercepted a Toyota Starlet without a registration number.
A search of the vehicle allegedly uncovered 1.325kg of methamphetamine wrapped in black nylon bags, alongside quantities of cannabis sativa.
A 22-year-old suspect, Muhammadu Usman, was arrested.
In Oyo State, a 65-year-old woman, Adebayo Kaosarat, was arrested on Friday at the Akobo-Ojuirin area of Ibadan with 4.68kg of illicit substances.
The NDLEA said the haul comprised 1.795kg of Scottish Loud, 1.66kg of tramadol, 600 grammes of codeine syrup, 125 grammes of diazepam and 50 grammes of flunitrazepam.
In Kano State, a raid on Hadeija Road on Monday, August 17, led to the arrest of 31-year-old Chibuzor Madueke, from whom 98 blocks of skunk weighing 73.3kg were recovered.
At Seme, near the Badagry border in Lagos State, three members of the same family—52-year-old Nasiru Tijjani and his two 27-year-old relatives, Moshood and Salami Tijjani—were arrested with 48kg of skunk at Ashipa.
The NDLEA said its commands across the country also continued their War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation campaigns in schools, worship centres, workplaces and communities during the week.
Marwa commended officers and men of the Ogun, Apapa, Lekki, Seme, Akwa Ibom, Ondo, Oyo, Kwara, Kano, Abia and FCT Commands for the operations.
He urged them and other personnel across the country to sustain what he described as the agency’s balanced approach to drug control.
(The Whistler)