By Deborah Nnamdi
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has apprehended two octogenarians—80-year-old Ayuba Ashiru and 82-year-old Uloma Uchechi Sunday—along with her 32-year-old daughter, Chisom Uchechi, during a series of coordinated operations across the country.
In a statement by Femi Babafemi, Director of Media & Advocacy at NDLEA Headquarters, the agency revealed that Ayuba, a previously convicted drug trafficker who served a 10-year sentence from 2014 to 2024, was re-arrested on May 14 in Kaduna State with 2.3kg of skunk. He confessed to being in the drug trade for 46 years.
In Abia State, officers raided the home of Uloma Sunday, recovering quantities of methamphetamine, tramadol, cannabis (skunk), and N130,600 in cash. She admitted to taking over the illicit business with her daughter after the death of her son, the original operator.
NDLEA also reported major drug seizures at Nigeria’s seaports. At the Port Harcourt Ports complex in Onne, operatives intercepted three million pills of tapentadol and carisoprodol, valued at N2.1 billion. Similarly, at Apapa Port in Lagos, 169,800 bottles of codeine syrup worth over N1.1 billion were discovered hidden in a container declared as vehicle parts from India.
Other notable arrests include the seizure of 199,200 tramadol pills in Kwara State, cocaine concealed in headgear at a Lagos courier company, and over 143kg of cannabis in Niger State. In separate operations, suspects were arrested in Nasarawa, Lagos, Jigawa, and Taraba States with various quantities of illicit drugs.
During a highway patrol along the Abuja–Kaduna road, NDLEA intercepted a 29-year-old man in possession of an AK-47 rifle hidden in a sack of maize. He has been handed over to the relevant security authorities.
NDLEA Chairman, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), commended the agency’s operatives nationwide for their efforts in curbing drug trafficking and balancing supply and demand reduction strategies.
