NDLEA Arrests Two Elderly Drug Dealers for Supplying Students, Seizes Illicit Consignments Across Nigeria
Oru Leonard
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), has arrested two elderly men accused of supplying illicit drugs to secondary school students in Umuahia, Abia State, as part of a nationwide crackdown that also led to major drug seizures and the arrest of several suspects across the country.
The suspects, 84-year-old Godfrey Orji and 75-year-old Godwin Obulunbiya Obiora, were apprehended for their involvement in the sale of prohibited substances, including to teenagers.
In a statement issued on Sunday by
According to the NDLEA, Obiora was arrested on June 19 after intelligence reports linked him to the sale of illicit substances from his patent medicine store located on Club Road, Umuahia. A search of the premises reportedly yielded 4.64 kilograms of opioids, including tramadol and diazepam.
Orji, a pensioner, was arrested after security personnel at Saint Silas Secondary School in Old Umuahia caught him supplying drugs to two teenage students. He was subsequently handed over to law enforcement authorities and transferred to the NDLEA on June 18.
One of the students, a 15-year-old Senior Secondary School 2 (SS2) student, reportedly confessed that Orji regularly supplied him with drugs for personal use and resale to fellow students. While the elderly suspects are expected to face prosecution, the teenagers have been placed under counselling and rehabilitation programmes.
In a related development, NDLEA operatives intercepted a 9.5-kilogram consignment of ADB Chminaca, a synthetic cannabinoid classified as a dangerous new psychoactive substance, at a courier company in Lagos. The shipment originated from China and was concealed in a carton.
The agency also recovered 300 grams of Loud, a potent cannabis strain, hidden inside ladies’ handbags at another logistics company in Lagos.
Further operations in Lagos led to the recovery of drugs from the residence of a wanted suspect, Lukman Badmus, also known as Lukman Ogombo, in the Ogombo area of Ajah. Officers recovered codeine syrup and skunk during the raid.
A follow-up operation at a shop linked to his wife, Aisha Saraki, on Lagos Island resulted in the seizure of additional codeine bottles, drug paraphernalia, and 22.5 kilograms of skunk concealed in a parked minibus. NDLEA said attempts to destroy some of the exhibits were thwarted by operatives.
In Kogi State, officers intercepted a 33-year-old suspect, Tochukwu Onah, along the Okene-Lokoja highway with 1.03 kilograms of methamphetamine concealed in custard containers while travelling from Lagos to Abuja.
The agency also announced the arrest of a couple, James Tony Chukwudi and James Kehinde, who had been on the run since March following the seizure of 117 kilograms of skunk linked to them in Ekiti State.
In Oyo State, a 75-year-old woman, Tudun Olubiyi, alongside two other suspects, was arrested after NDLEA operatives raided a residence in Oyo town and recovered 1,416 kilograms of skunk hidden in 118 jumbo bags covered with sawdust.
Operations in Edo State led to the destruction of large cannabis plantations and the recovery of processed cannabis weighing hundreds of kilograms. Two suspects were arrested during separate raids.
Beyond enforcement activities, the NDLEA said its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) campaign continued across schools and communities nationwide, with sensitisation programmes held in Ekiti, Kano, Nasarawa, Katsina, Anambra and Rivers states.
Commending officers involved in the operations, NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Mohamed Buba Marwa, praised the balance between drug supply reduction efforts and public sensitisation campaigns, urging personnel across the country to sustain the momentum in the fight against drug abuse and trafficking.
Femi Babafemi, Director of Media and Advocacy at the NDLEA Headquarters in Abuja, disclosed the details in a statement issued on Sunday.
