The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a South African woman, Gebashe Sithandiwe Jessie, with 32.74 kilogrammes of cannabis at the Port Harcourt International Airport, Omagwa, Rivers State, while operatives also intercepted 1,027 kilogrammes of the substance from a suspect, Mohammed Musa, along the Zaria-Kaduna Expressway.
The agency also re-arrested an 83-year-old woman, Uloma Uchechi Sunday, with consignments of methamphetamine and Colorado at her residence in Ite-Uzo, Umuaguma, Obingwa Local Government Area of Abia State, barely a year after she was arrested, prosecuted and convicted for drug-related offences.
NDLEA spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, disclosed this in a statement on Sunday, adding that the arrests formed part of intelligence-led operations that led to major drug seizures across several states.
Babafemi said Jessie was arrested at the Port Harcourt airport by NDLEA operatives working in collaboration with the Nigeria Customs Service. The suspect allegedly concealed 30 parcels of Thai Loud, a strain of cannabis weighing 32.74kg, in two travelling bags.
She reportedly travelled from Thailand through Doha aboard Qatar Airways flight QR1431 and confessed to having trafficked drugs through other African countries before attempting to expand her route to Port Harcourt.
In Kaduna State, operatives on patrol along the Zaria-Kaduna Expressway arrested Mohammed Musa, 29, with 31 jumbo bags and 775 blocks of skunk, a cannabis strain, weighing a combined 1,027kg.
The agency also arrested the 83-year-old Uloma on Wednesday, October 7, after intelligence indicated that she operated a drug joint allegedly harbouring criminal elements terrorising her community.
She was found with quantities of methamphetamine and Colorado tied around her waist with a wrapper.
Her previous arrest occurred on May 17, 2025, when she was apprehended alongside her 32-year-old daughter, Chisom Uchechi, at the same residence. The duo were found with 50 grammes of methamphetamine, 522 grammes of skunk, 260 grammes of fresh cannabis leaves and 12 grammes of tramadol.
They pleaded guilty and were each sentenced to 12 months’ imprisonment or a fine of N200,000. They paid the fines and were released by the court.
At the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos, NDLEA operatives intercepted 354,000 tablets of Tapentadol 250mg, weighing 307.20kg, in nine cartons shipped from Pakistan aboard a Royal Air Maroc flight.
The consignment, which arrived on September 29, was placed under surveillance before a joint examination on October 6 uncovered the drugs.
In another operation at the Lagos airport, officers intercepted 70 parcels of Colorado weighing 75.90kg in six Ghana-Must-Go bags concealed in a consolidated cargo from the United Kingdom.
A clearing agent, John Edrah, 54, was arrested on September 30, followed by Taofiq Ajibola, 54, an Uber driver, who was apprehended while collecting one of the bags at a logistics company in Mafoluku, Oshodi.
Adetunji Adebayo and Kazeem Damola Dosunmu, 48, a clothing trader, were subsequently arrested while attempting to collect the remaining five bags.
Ajibola reportedly said the drugs were sent by a UK-based associate, Lukman Sa’idu, while Dosunmu identified another UK-based man, Yusuf, as the sender of his consignment.
In Cross River State, a raid on Iyala Nkun village in Ikom Local Government Area on October 4 led to the arrest of Adama Inuwa, 46, with 181 bags of cannabis weighing 1,100kg and 17.15kg of cannabis seeds.
In Edo State, operatives intercepted a black Toyota Camry conveying 1,049 blocks of compressed cannabis weighing 702.83kg at Otuo, Owan East Local Government Area, on October 5. Monday Orji, 52, Monday Lawal, 40, and Precious Uduegele, 20, were arrested in connection with the seizure.
Another suspect, Ojugo Mercy, 26, was arrested at Asoro, off Sakponba Road, Benin City, with 989 grammes of Loud, 13 grammes of Colorado and 83 grammes of methamphetamine.
In Ondo State, 21-year-old Happy Endurance was arrested at her hideout in the Shasha area of Akure on October 5, with 29 bags of cannabis weighing 290kg. On the same day, Tunde Adebayo, 42, was arrested during a raid on an apartment in Oba-Ile, Akure, where 35 bags of cannabis weighing 351kg were recovered.
In Taraba State, NDLEA operatives, supported by soldiers, arrested Abdulrasheed Mohamed, 31, and Abubakar Saidu, 37, at Chanchanji village, Wukari Local Government Area, on October 9, with 166,200 tablets of tramadol 225mg weighing 107kg.
Similarly, a stop-and-search operation along the Kano-Maiduguri Road in Kano State on October 9 led to the arrest of Yahaya Musa, 32, with 24,990 capsules of tramadol, 50,000 tablets of diazepam and 22,000 tablets of Exol-5.
In Lagos, Musbau Balogun Adekunle was arrested in the Orile area on October 6 with 32.51kg of skunk and 52.65kg of cannabis seeds, bringing the total seizure to 85.16kg.
Meanwhile, operatives in Plateau State recovered assorted firearms and ammunition during a raid on the residence of Christian Chukwudi Uju, 45, at Rukuba Road, Jos, on October 8.
The items recovered included 47 grammes of methamphetamine, two pump-action rifles, one locally made gun, 199 live cartridges, five rounds of 7.62mm ammunition and one round of 9mm ammunition.
The NDLEA also sustained its War Against Drug Abuse sensitisation campaign during the week, with lectures delivered to students and staff of schools, worship centres, workplaces and communities across the country.
Among the institutions reached were Progressive Grammar School, Tede, Oyo State; Ehugbo Technical College, Afikpo, Ebonyi State; Baptist High School, Lambata, Niger State; Madarasatul Tarbiyatul Islamiya, Galangalan Tudun Wada, Kano State; Ipara Senior and Junior Community Secondary School, Badagry, Lagos State; and Manbahu Ridwanullah Nursery and Primary School, Olomore, Abeokuta, Ogun State.
Commending officers and men of the Lagos, Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Port Harcourt International Airport, Taraba, Kano, Kaduna, Edo, Cross River, Ondo and Plateau commands for their operations, NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), urged personnel nationwide to sustain the agency’s balanced approach to drug control.
