The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has uncovered a disturbing drug distribution network targeting secondary school students, leading to the arrest of two elderly men aged 84 and 75 in Abia State for allegedly supplying illicit substances to teenagers.
The agency also announced a series of major operations across the country, including the interception of synthetic drugs imported from China, the seizure of cannabis concealed in ladies’ handbags bound for Dubai, the arrest of a wanted couple linked to a drug syndicate in Ekiti State, and the apprehension of a 75-year-old grandmother during a large-scale cannabis raid in Oyo State.
The arrests and seizures were disclosed on Sunday by the NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, who said the operations reflected the agency’s sustained efforts to dismantle drug trafficking networks and curb the growing threat of substance abuse.
One of the most alarming cases involved the arrest of 75-year-old Godwin Obiora, who was apprehended on Friday following intelligence reports that he was allegedly selling illicit drugs to students and other users from his patent medicine store on Club Road, Umuahia, Abia State.
A search of the premises reportedly led to the recovery of 4.64 kilogrammes of opioids, including tramadol and diazepam.
In a separate incident, 84-year-old pensioner Godfrey Orji was arrested after security personnel at Saint Silas Secondary School, Old Umuahia, allegedly caught him supplying illicit drugs to two students within the school premises.
The school authorities handed the suspects over to the police, who subsequently transferred the matter to the NDLEA for further investigation.
According to the agency, one of the students, a 15-year-old Senior Secondary School Two (SS2) pupil, confessed during interrogation that Orji had been supplying him with drugs, which he consumed and resold to fellow students.
While the elderly suspects are expected to face prosecution, the students involved have been enrolled in counselling and rehabilitation programmes.
The development has heightened concerns over the increasing incidence of drug abuse among adolescents and the infiltration of school environments by drug traffickers seeking to recruit young people into illicit drug networks.
In Lagos, NDLEA operatives intercepted a 9.5-kilogramme consignment of ADB Chminaca, a synthetic cannabinoid classified as a dangerous psychoactive substance, at a courier company. The shipment originated from China and was concealed in a carton.
Officers also uncovered 300 grammes of Loud, a potent strain of cannabis, hidden inside ladies’ handbags at another logistics facility in the state and intended for export.
In a related operation, operatives raided the residence of a wanted drug suspect, Lukman Badmus, popularly known as Lukman Ogombo, in the Ogombo area of Ajah, Lagos, where bottles of codeine syrup and quantities of skunk were recovered.
A follow-up raid on a shop operated by his wife, Aisha Saraki, on Lagos Island led to the seizure of additional codeine syrup, drug paraphernalia and 42 compressed blocks of skunk weighing 22.5 kilogrammes concealed inside a minibus parked in front of the premises.
The agency said attempts by the suspect to destroy some of the exhibits by flushing them down a toilet were successfully thwarted by operatives.
Along the Okene-Lokoja Highway in Kogi State, NDLEA officers intercepted 33-year-old Tochukwu Onah while travelling from Lagos to Abuja with 1.03 kilogrammes of methamphetamine concealed in custard containers.
In Ekiti State, operatives arrested a couple, James Chukwudi, 48, and James Kehinde, 35, who had been wanted since March in connection with the seizure of 117 kilogrammes of skunk.
Meanwhile, in Oyo State, a 75-year-old woman, Tudun Olubiyi, and two other suspects were arrested during a raid on a house in the Dangote area of Elekara, Oyo Town. The operation led to the recovery of 118 jumbo bags containing 1,416 kilogrammes of skunk concealed beneath sawdust.
The agency also intensified its operations against cannabis cultivation in Edo State, where operatives raided the Khagba Forest in Owan East Local Government Area and destroyed more than 1.7 tonnes of cannabis. An additional 169 kilogrammes of processed cannabis was recovered during the operation.
Another raid at Ebora Camp in Esan South Local Government Area resulted in the destruction of over 2.4 tonnes of cannabis, while a suspect, Augustine Anyamone, was arrested with 395 kilogrammes of skunk in a separate operation.
Beyond enforcement activities, the NDLEA said its commands nationwide continued implementing the War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) campaign through awareness and sensitisation programmes in schools, communities, workplaces and traditional institutions across several states, including Ekiti, Kano, Nasarawa, Katsina, Anambra and Rivers.
Commending officers involved in the operations, NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brigadier-General Buba Marwa (retd.), said the successes demonstrated the agency’s commitment to reducing the supply of illicit drugs while strengthening preventive education and rehabilitation initiatives.
He urged officers to sustain the momentum, noting that the growing involvement of vulnerable groups, including schoolchildren and the elderly, underscores the need for intensified enforcement efforts and stronger community-based interventions to combat the nation’s drug problem.
