NDLEA Arrests 101-Year-Old Woman in Ogun, Seizes N4.4bn Drugs at Lagos Ports
By Victor Idajili
Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency have arrested a 101-year-old woman in Ogun State for alleged drug dealing, and also intercepted cocaine and synthetic cannabis worth over N4.4 billion at Lagos ports.
NDLEA spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, said this in a statement on Monday.
According to him, Esther Ogunmabo was arrested on Saturday, August 15, 2026, in Ilisan, Ogun State, with 90 grams of skunk packed in small retail sachets which she allegedly sold to locals.
The centenarian told operatives that she resorted to selling drugs after her provisions shop was razed by fire. She said her daughter in Lagos supplies her every four days. Because of her age, NDLEA Chairman, Brig Gen Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), directed that she be granted bail and placed on counselling. Her daughter has been arrested.
In Akwa Ibom, NDLEA officers on Friday, August 21, intercepted a wooden boat on the high seas conveying drugs to fishing settlements in Cameroon. Three suspects were arrested with a total of 42.622kg of narcotics. One of them, Kingsley Effiong John, 27, had 20g of cocaine hidden inside a wrap of fufu.
The Agency also recorded its first-ever seizure of drugs shipped from Thailand through Nigerian seaports. Two containers of cannabis indica, popularly called “Loud,” were intercepted at Apapa and Lekki ports with a combined street value of over N4.4 billion. Both containers were loaded at the Port of Laem Chabang, Thailand.
At Apapa Port, a container declared to be carrying dry fish, rice and spare parts was found to contain 1,090.5kg of Thai Loud packed in 54 cartons. At Lekki Deep Sea Port, another container on the Agency’s watchlist yielded 400kg of Loud hidden in four pallets, while the remaining pallets had A4 paper used as cover.
Other operations in the past week include the interception of 24,410 tramadol pills in Abuja on August 22. A follow-up in Kontagora, Niger State, led to the arrest of the owner, Sunday Eze, 28.
In Ondo, NDLEA raided a cannabis farm in Ijare forest on August 19 and destroyed 10,000kg of skunk planted on four hectares. In the same state, 210kg of skunk and a Toyota Camry were recovered in Ita-Ogbolu, Akure North.
In Kwara, operatives intercepted a Toyota Starlet along Ogbomosho-Ilorin expressway on August 21 and recovered 1.325kg of methamphetamine and quantities of cannabis. One suspect, Muhammadu Usman, 22, was arrested.
The Agency said investigations are ongoing in all the cases.
