Agency Reports Major Drug Hauls at Airports and in Multiple States, Including Over One Tonne of Cannabis in Cross River
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has rearrested an 83-year-old woman, Uloma Uchechi Sunday, for alleged drug trafficking, barely 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 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 that the woman operated a drug joint allegedly patronised by criminal elements terrorising the community.
Babafemi recalled that Uloma and her 32-year-old daughter, Chisom Uchechi, were arrested at the same residence on May 17, 2025. During that operation, officers recovered 50 grammes of methamphetamine, 522 grammes of skunk, 260 grammes of fresh cannabis leaves and 12 grammes of tramadol.
The agency said both women pleaded guilty and were sentenced to 12 months’ imprisonment or a fine of ₦200,000 each. They paid the fines and were released. The NDLEA alleged that Uloma returned to the illicit trade after her release.
In a separate operation, operatives arrested a South African woman, Gebashe Sithandiwe Jessie, at the Port Harcourt International Airport in Omagwa, Rivers State, for allegedly importing 30 parcels of Thai Loud weighing 32.74kg. The cannabis was reportedly concealed in two travelling bags. The agency said she had travelled from Thailand through Doha aboard Qatar Airways flight QR1431.
At the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos, NDLEA operatives intercepted 354,000 tablets of Tapentadol 250mg weighing 307.20kg in a shipment from Pakistan. The consignment arrived on September 29 aboard a Royal Air Maroc flight and was discovered in nine cartons during a joint examination on October 6.
Officers also intercepted 70 parcels of Colorado weighing 75.90kg in six Ghana-Must-Go bags concealed in consolidated cargo 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 later arrested when they arrived to collect the remaining five bags. According to the NDLEA, Ajibola identified a UK-based associate, Lukman Sa’idu, as the sender, while Dosunmu claimed his consignment came from another UK-based man identified as Yusuf.
The nationwide operations also yielded significant seizures in other states. In Cross River, operatives arrested 46-year-old Adama Inuwa at Iyala Nkun village, Ikom Local Government Area, following surveillance. The operation led to the recovery of 181 bags of cannabis weighing 1,100kg and 17.15kg of cannabis seeds.
In Edo State, officers intercepted a black Toyota Camry conveying 1,049 blocks of compressed cannabis weighing 702.83kg at Otuo, Owan East Local Government Area. Three suspects — Monday Orji, 52; Monday Lawal, 40; and Precious Uduegele, 20 — were arrested. In a separate raid at Asoro, off Sakponba Road in Benin City, operatives arrested 26-year-old Ojugo Mercy and recovered 989 grammes of Loud, 13 grammes of Colorado and 83 grammes of methamphetamine.
In Ondo State, two separate operations in Akure led to the arrests of 21-year-old Happy Endurance and 42-year-old Tunde Adebayo. Officers reportedly recovered 290kg of cannabis from Endurance’s hideout in the Shasha area and 351kg from an apartment in Oba-Ile.
In Taraba State, operatives working with soldiers arrested Abdulrasheed Mohamed, 31, and Abubakar Saidu, 37, at Chanchanji village, Wukari Local Government Area. The suspects were allegedly found with 166,200 tablets of tramadol 225mg weighing 107kg.
Along the Kano-Maiduguri Road in Kano State, a stop-and-search operation led to the arrest of 32-year-old Yahaya Musa and the recovery of 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 1,027kg.
The agency also reported the arrest of Musbau Balogun Adekunle in Orile, Lagos, on October 6. The operation yielded 32.51kg of skunk and 52.65kg of cannabis seeds, bringing the total seizure to 85.16kg.
In Plateau State, operatives raided the residence of 45-year-old Christian Chukwudi Uju at Rukuba Road, Jos, on October 8. They reportedly recovered 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.
Meanwhile, the NDLEA 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.
NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), commended personnel involved in the operations across the affected states and at the international airports, according to Babafemi. He praised their professionalism and intelligence-led efforts and urged them to sustain the agency’s drug control operations.