The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a 101-year-old woman, Esther Ogunmabo, for allegedly dealing in illicit drugs in Ogun State, while operatives also intercepted cocaine concealed in edible cassava flour and seized consignments of synthetic cannabis worth more than N4.4 billion at the Apapa and Lekki ports in Lagos.
The latest operations were carried out across several states and the Federal Capital Territory as part of the agency’s intensified crackdown on illicit drug trafficking.
Ogunmabo was arrested on Saturday, August 15, 2026, in Ilisan, Ogun State, with 90 grammes of skunk, a strain of cannabis, packed in retail sachets.
According to the NDLEA, the centenarian told operatives that she turned to drug dealing after her provisions shop was destroyed by fire. She reportedly said one of her daughters, who lives in Lagos, supplied the cannabis to her every four days, which she sold in small quantities to local customers.
The NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd.), directed that Ogunmabo be granted bail and subjected to counselling because of her advanced age. Her daughter was subsequently arrested.
Cocaine hidden in fufu
In Akwa Ibom, NDLEA operatives intercepted a wooden boat on the high seas on Friday, August 21, allegedly carrying illicit drugs to fishing settlements in Cameroon.
Three suspects were arrested aboard the boat, which was reportedly heading to Ine Isu, Ine Mbah and Ine Ikot Itie Udung fishing ports in Cameroon.
They were identified as Etima Effiong Eekpo, 29, with 1.120kg of skunk; Otobong Eyoh Etukudoh, 33, with 42.060kg of skunk; and Kingsley Effiong John, 27, who had 20 grammes of cocaine concealed inside a large wrap of edible cassava flour, popularly known as fufu, alongside 435 grammes of skunk.
A total of 42.622kg of narcotics was recovered from the three suspects.
N4.4bn Loud seized at Apapa, Lekki ports
The agency also recorded what it described as its first seizure of illicit drugs shipped from Thailand through Nigeria’s maritime corridor, following the interception of two containers of cannabis indica, popularly known as Loud, at the Apapa and Lekki ports.
The consignments, both loaded at the Port of Laem Chabang in Thailand, had a combined street value of more than N4.4 billion.
At Apapa Port, a container declared to contain dry fish, rice, vehicle spare parts, turmeric soap and inverter batteries was examined jointly by NDLEA, the Nigeria Customs Service and other agencies on Friday, August 21.
The examination 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.
Four of the seven pallets in the container were found to contain Thai Loud, with 96 cartons comprising 400 parcels weighing 400kg. The remaining three pallets contained 798 rims of A4 paper, which were allegedly used to conceal the drugs.
24,410 tramadol pills intercepted
In the Federal Capital Territory, NDLEA operatives on Saturday, August 22, intercepted three waybill packages containing 24,410 pills of tramadol capsules concealed 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. He was subsequently transferred to Abuja.
In Ondo State, operatives raided a cannabis farm in Ijare Forest, Ifedore Local Government Area, on August 19, following the earlier arrest of three suspected cannabis cultivators at the location.
The agency said 10,000kg of skunk cultivated across four hectares of the forest was destroyed.
In a separate operation at Ita-Ogbolu, Akure North LGA, 210kg of skunk was recovered alongside a Toyota Camry belonging to Sylvester Dibiagu Anthony, who is currently at large.
In Kwara State, a patrol team on the Ogbomosho-Ilorin Expressway intercepted a Toyota Starlet without a registration number on Friday, August 21.
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.
65-year-old woman arrested in Oyo
In Oyo State, NDLEA operatives arrested 65-year-old Adebayo Kaosarat at the Akobo-Ojuirin area of Ibadan on Friday, August 21.
She was allegedly found with 4.68kg of assorted illicit substances comprising 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 along 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.
Similarly, NDLEA operatives at Ashipa, near the Seme border in Lagos, arrested three members of the same family — Nasiru Tijjani, 52, and his two sons, Moshood Tijjani, 27, and Salami Tijjani, 27 — with 48kg of skunk.
In Abia State, a raid on the residence of 36-year-old Ikechukwu Anthony Iwuno at Umuobia Olokoro, Umuahia South LGA, on Thursday, August 20, resulted in the recovery of 14.4kg of Loud, 2.3kg of Colorado, 386 grammes of tramadol and 134 grammes of Rohypnol.
NDLEA intensifies WADA campaign
Beyond arrests and seizures, the NDLEA said its commands and formations continued with its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation campaign across schools, worship centres, workplaces and communities.
The agency listed recent engagements at Umar Bn Khattab College for Islamic Studies in Kano; Markaz Al-Furqan Centre of Islamic and Arabic Teaching in Kishi, Oyo State; the School of Nursing and Midwifery in Birnin Kebbi; Mu’assasah Tahfizui Qur’an Islamiya School in Ibi, Taraba State; and the Scout Association of Nigeria’s National Youth Camp in Benin City, Edo State.
The Idiroko Special Area Command also paid a WADA advocacy visit to the Chairman of Ipokia Local Government Area of Ogun State, Johnson Avoseh.
Marwa commended personnel of the Ogun, Apapa, Lekki, Seme, Akwa Ibom, Ondo, Oyo, Kwara, Kano, Abia and FCT Commands for the operations.
He urged NDLEA personnel across the country to sustain what he described as a balanced approach to drug control, combining enforcement with prevention, advocacy and counselling.
