By Opeyemi Adelakun
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested an 83-year-old woman, Uloma Uchechi Sunday, with consignments of methamphetamine and Colorado in Abia State, less than a year after she was convicted of a similar offence.
The agency said the woman was arrested on Wednesday, October 7, at her residence in Ite-Uzo, Umuaguma, Obingwa Local Government Area, following intelligence reports that she was operating a drug joint allegedly frequented by criminal elements.
According to an NDLEA statement, operatives found quantities of methamphetamine and Colorado tied around her waist with a wrapper during the operation.
The agency said Uloma had previously been arrested at the same residence on May 17, 2025, alongside her 32-year-old daughter, Chisom Uchechi.
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 two women reportedly 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 the older woman subsequently returned to the drug trade and established a drug joint.
South African woman arrested with 32.74kg of cannabis
In Rivers State, NDLEA operatives, working with the Nigeria Customs Service, arrested a South African woman, Gebashe Sithandiwe Jessie, at the Port Harcourt International Airport, Omagwa.
She was allegedly found with 30 parcels of Thai Loud, a cannabis variety weighing 32.74kg, concealed in two travelling bags.
The agency said she arrived from Thailand through Doha on a Qatar Airways flight and allegedly admitted to previously trafficking drugs through other African countries.
At the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos, operatives intercepted 354,000 tablets of Tapentadol 250mg, weighing 307.20kg, in a consignment from Pakistan.
The shipment arrived on September 29 aboard a Royal Air Maroc flight and was placed under surveillance before a joint examination on October 6 revealed the drugs.
In a separate operation, the agency intercepted 75.90kg of Colorado concealed in six Ghana-Must-Go bags in a consolidated cargo from the United Kingdom.
Several suspects were arrested in connection with the seizure, including a clearing agent, John Edrah, 54; an Uber driver, Taofiq Ajibola, 54; and clothing trader Kazeem Damola Dosunmu, 48.
The NDLEA said Ajibola identified a UK-based associate, Lukman Sa’idu, as the person who sent the drugs, while Dosunmu reportedly named another UK-based man, Yusuf.
Cannabis, tramadol seized across states
The nationwide operations also led to major seizures in Cross River, Edo, Ondo, Taraba, Kano, Kaduna and Lagos states.
In Cross River, operatives arrested Adama Inuwa, 46, in Iyala Nkun village, Ikom Local Government Area, and recovered 181 bags of cannabis weighing 1,100kg, alongside 17.15kg of cannabis seeds.
In Edo State, officers intercepted a Toyota Camry at Otuo, Owan East Local Government Area, carrying 1,049 blocks of compressed cannabis weighing 702.83kg. Three suspects were arrested in connection with the seizure.
Another operation in Benin City led to the arrest of Ojugo Mercy, 26, with 989 grammes of Loud, 13 grammes of Colorado and 83 grammes of methamphetamine.
In Ondo State, operatives recovered 290kg of cannabis from a 21-year-old suspect, Happy Endurance, in the Shasha area of Akure. A separate raid in Oba-Ile led to the arrest of Tunde Adebayo, 42, with 351kg of the substance.
In Taraba State, two suspects, Abdulrasheed Mohamed, 31, and Abubakar Saidu, 37, were arrested in Chanchanji village, Wukari Local Government Area, with 166,200 tablets of tramadol 225mg weighing 107kg.
Along the Kano-Maiduguri road, officers arrested Yahaya Musa, 32, with 24,990 capsules of tramadol, 50,000 tablets of diazepam and 22,000 tablets of Exol-5.
In Kaduna State, Mohammed Musa, 29, was arrested along the Zaria-Kaduna Expressway with 31 jumbo bags of skunk and 775 blocks of the same substance, with a combined weight of 1,027kg.
In Lagos, Musbau Balogun Adekunle was arrested in Orile with 32.51kg of skunk and 52.65kg of cannabis seeds, bringing the total seizure to 85.16kg.
Rifles, ammunition recovered in Plateau
In Plateau State, NDLEA operatives recovered firearms and ammunition during a raid on the residence of Christian Chukwudi Uju, 45, at Rukuba Road, Jos.
The agency said the items included 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 series of operations forms part of the agency’s ongoing efforts to disrupt drug trafficking and distribution networks across the country.
The allegations against the arrested suspects remain subject to the relevant legal processes.
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