Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have recorded major breakthroughs in the fight against illicit drug trafficking across Nigeria’s land and maritime borders, including the arrest of a 101-year-old woman for drug dealing, interception of cocaine concealed in edible cassava flour (fufu), and seizure of large consignments of synthetic cannabis worth more than N4.4 billion.
In one of the most unusual arrests recorded by the agency, NDLEA operatives on Saturday, 15 August 2026, arrested 101-year-old Esther Ogunmabo at Ilisan, Ogun State, with 90 grammes of skunk, a strain of cannabis, packaged in retail sachets.
The centenarian reportedly told investigators that she started selling illicit drugs after her provisions shop was destroyed by fire, Femi Babafemi, the Director, Media and Advocacy NDLEA, disclosed in a statement on Sunday.
She further disclosed that one of her daughters, who lives in Lagos, supplied the cannabis to her every four days, which she sold in small quantities to customers in the community.
However, the NDLEA Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), directed that Ogunmabo be granted bail and subjected to counselling in view of her advanced age. Her daughter was subsequently arrested.
In Akwa Ibom State, NDLEA operatives acting on credible intelligence intercepted a wooden boat on the high seas on Friday, August 21, while transporting illicit drugs to fishing settlements in the Republic of Cameroon.
Three suspects were arrested aboard the vessel, which was 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 arrested with 435 grammes of skunk and 20 grammes of cocaine cleverly concealed inside a large wrap of edible cassava flour, popularly known as fufu.
A total of 42.622kg of illicit drugs was recovered from the three suspects.
The agency also recorded what it described as its first-ever seizure of illicit drugs shipped from Thailand through Nigeria’s maritime corridor following the interception of two containers containing cannabis indica, popularly known as Loud, at the Apapa and Lekki ports in Lagos.
The consignments, which were shipped from the Port of Laem Chabang in Thailand, had a combined street value of more than N4.4 billion, highlighting what the agency described as an emerging trafficking route being exploited by international drug syndicates.
At the Apapa Port, a container declared to contain dry fish, rice, vehicle spare parts, turmeric soap and inverter batteries was subjected to a joint examination 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 placed on the NDLEA watchlist and monitored by its Marine Special Operations Unit was jointly examined on Wednesday, August 19.
Four of the seven pallets in the container, which were wrapped in black nylon, contained 96 cartons comprising 400 parcels of Thai Loud weighing 400kg.
The remaining three pallets contained 798 rims of A4 paper, which were allegedly used as concealment for the drug consignment.
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, NDLEA operatives on Wednesday, August 19, raided a cannabis farm in Ijare Forest, Ifedore Local Government Area, following the earlier arrest of three suspected cannabis growers at the location on August 16.
The operation led to the destruction of 10,000kg of skunk cultivated across four hectares of the forest.
In another operation in the state on the same day, operatives recovered 210kg of skunk and a Toyota Camry with registration number AGL 223 JH at Ita-Ogbolu, Akure North Local Government Area. The vehicle allegedly belongs to Sylvester Dibiagu Anthony, who is currently at large.
In Kwara State, NDLEA operatives on patrol along the Ogbomosho-Ilorin Expressway in Ilorin on Friday, August 21, intercepted a Toyota Starlet without a registration number.
A search of the vehicle led to the recovery of 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 at Akobo-Ojuirin, Ibadan, on Friday, August 21, with a cocktail of 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, weighing 4.68kg in total.
In Kano State, a raid conducted along Hadeija Road on Monday, August 17, resulted in the arrest of 31-year-old Chibuzor Madueke, from whom 98 blocks of skunk weighing 73.3kg were recovered.
At Seme, in the Badagry area of Lagos State, NDLEA operatives arrested three members of the same family — 52-year-old Nasiru Tijjani and his two sons, 27-year-old Moshood Tijjani and 27-year-old Salami Tijjani — at Ashipa, near the Seme border. A total of 48kg of skunk was recovered from them.
In Abia State, NDLEA operatives on Thursday, August 20, raided the residence of 36-year-old Ikechukwu Anthony Iwuno in the Umuobia Olokoro area of Umuahia South Local Government Area.
The operation resulted in the recovery of 14.4kg of Loud, 2.3kg of Colorado, 386 grammes of tramadol and 134 grammes of Rohypnol.
Beyond arrests and seizures, NDLEA Commands and formations across the country continued their War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation campaigns in schools, worship centres, workplaces and communities during the week.
The campaigns included enlightenment lectures at Umar Bn Khattab College for Islamic Studies in Ungogo Local Government Area of Kano State; Markaz Al-Furqan Centre of Islamic and Arabic Teaching in Kishi, Oyo State; School of Nursing and Midwifery in Birnin Kebbi, Kebbi State; Mu’assasah Tahfizul Qur’an Islamiya School in Ibi, Taraba State; and the Scout Association of Nigeria’s first 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, Hon. Johnson Avoseh.
Commending officers and men of the Ogun, Apapa, Lekki, Seme, Akwa Ibom, Ondo, Oyo, Kwara, Kano, Abia and FCT Commands for their successes, Marwa urged NDLEA personnel nationwide to sustain the agency’s balanced approach to drug control.
He called for continued enforcement operations alongside prevention, public enlightenment, counselling and other measures aimed at reducing drug abuse and trafficking across the country.
