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 was convicted of the same offence. According to the NDLEA Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, the octogenarian was arrested on Wednesday, October 7, at her residence in Ite-Uzo, Umuaguma, Obingwa Local Government Area of Abia State. Her re-arrest followed credible intelligence indicating that she runs a notorious drug joint that harbours criminal elements who terrorise the community.
The NDLEA also arrested a South African woman, Gebashe Sithandiwe Jessie, at the Port Harcourt International Airport, Omagwa, with 30 parcels of Thai Loud, a cannabis strain weighing 32.74kg. The drugs were concealed in two travelling bags. The suspect had travelled from Thailand via Doha aboard Qatar Airways flight QR1431. She confessed to having previously trafficked through other African countries and was expanding her route to Port Harcourt when she was caught.
In Lagos, NDLEA operatives intercepted 354,000 tablets of tapentadol, each weighing 250mg, imported from Pakistan. The 307.20kg consignment was discovered in nine cartons aboard a Royal Air Maroc flight after the shipment was placed under surveillance upon arrival on September 29. A joint examination conducted on October 6 uncovered the drugs. Four suspects were arrested in connection with the seizure, including a 54-year-old clearing agent, John Edrah, a 54-year-old Uber driver, Taofiq Ajibola, Adetunji Adebayo, and a 48-year-old clothing trader, Kazeem Damola Dosunmu.
The NDLEA also made several other seizures across the country, including 70 parcels of Colorado, weighing 75.90kg, concealed in six Ghana-Must-Go bags in a consolidated cargo from the United Kingdom. In Cross River State, operatives raided Iyala Nkun village in Ikom Local Government Area on October 4, arresting 46-year-old Adama Inuwa and recovering 181 bags of cannabis weighing 1,100kg, alongside 17.15kg of cannabis seeds.
In Edo State, three suspects — Monday Orji, 52; Monday Lawal, 40; and Precious Uduegele, 20 — were arrested after operatives intercepted a Toyota Camry conveying 1,049 blocks of compressed cannabis weighing 702.83kg at Otuo, Owan East Local Government Area. Another suspect, Ojugo Mercy, 26, was arrested at Asoro, off Sakponba Road, Benin City, with 989g of Loud, 13g of Colorado, and 83g of methamphetamine.
The NDLEA also made seizures in Ondo State, Taraba State, Kano State, and Kaduna State. In Ondo State, operatives arrested 21-year-old Happy Endurance in the Shasha area of Akure on October 5, recovering 29 bags of cannabis weighing 290kg. In Taraba State, two suspects, Abdulrasheed Mohamed, 31, and Abubakar Saidu, 37, were arrested at Chanchanji village, Wukari Local Government Area, on October 9, with 166,200 tablets of tramadol weighing 107kg.
The NDLEA Chairman, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Marwa (retd.), commended the officers for their professionalism and intelligence-driven approach to the various successful operations. He urged them and their colleagues nationwide to continue with the current balanced approach to the drug control efforts of the agency. The agency also sustained its War Against Drug Abuse sensitisation campaign in schools, worship centres, workplaces, and communities.
Key points
- The NDLEA rearrested an 83-year-old woman for alleged drug trafficking.
- A South African woman was arrested with 32.74kg of cannabis in Rivers State.
- The NDLEA made several other seizures across the country, including 307.20kg of tapentadol in Lagos.
