An 83-year-old woman, Uloma Uchechi Sunday, has been re-arrested by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) with consignments of methamphetamine and Colorado, barely a year after she was convicted for drug trafficking.
The octogenarian was arrested on Wednesday, October 7, at her residence in Ite-Uzo, Umuaguma, Obingwa Local Government Area of Abia State, after intelligence reports allegedly linked her to a drug joint where criminal elements terrorising the community reportedly gather.
According to the NDLEA, operatives found quantities of methamphetamine and Colorado, a synthetic cannabinoid, tied around her waist with a wrapper during the operation.
The agency said Sunday’s latest arrest came after she returned to the illicit drug trade following her release from custody in 2025.
She was first arrested on May 17, 2025, alongside her 32-year-old daughter, Chisom Uchechi, at the same residence.
The NDLEA said the operatives recovered 50 grammes of methamphetamine, 522 grammes of skunk, 260 grammes of fresh cannabis leaves and 12 grammes of tramadol from them.
Both women pleaded guilty to the charges and were sentenced to 12 months’ imprisonment or a fine of ₦200,000 each. They paid the fines and were released.
The agency alleged that the elderly woman subsequently resumed the drug business and established a drug joint at which suspected criminals reportedly congregated.
In a separate operation, NDLEA operatives at the Port Harcourt International Airport, Omagwa, Rivers State, arrested a South African woman, Gebashe Sithandiwe Jessie, with 32.74 kilogrammes of cannabis, popularly known as Thai Loud.
The 30 parcels of the substance were allegedly concealed in two travelling bags.
The suspect reportedly arrived from Thailand through Doha aboard Qatar Airways flight QR1431. According to the agency, she admitted to previously trafficking drugs through other African countries and said she was expanding her routes to Port Harcourt before her arrest.
At the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos, NDLEA operatives intercepted 354,000 tablets of Tapentadol, a potent opioid painkiller, weighing 307.20 kilogrammes.
The consignment, packed in nine cartons, originated from Pakistan and arrived aboard a Royal Air Maroc flight.
The shipment was placed under surveillance after arriving on September 29, before a joint examination conducted on October 6 uncovered the tablets, each labelled as 250mg.
In another operation at the Lagos airport, operatives uncovered 70 parcels of Colorado weighing 75.90 kilogrammes concealed in six Ghana-Must-Go bags in a consolidated cargo shipment from the United Kingdom.
The shipment had also arrived on September 29 and was subsequently monitored by the agency.
A 54-year-old clearing agent, John Edrah, was arrested on September 30 in connection with the consignment.
The NDLEA subsequently arrested Taofiq Ajibola, 54, an Uber driver, while he was allegedly collecting one of the bags at a logistics company in Mafoluku, Oshodi.
Adetunji Adebayo and Kazeem Damola Dosunmu, 48, a clothing trader, were also arrested after allegedly arriving to collect the remaining five bags.
According to the agency, Ajibola identified a UK-based associate, Lukman Sa’idu, as the person who sent his consignment, while Dosunmu reportedly named another UK-based individual, Yusuf, as the sender of his own shipment.
The NDLEA also reported major cannabis seizures in Cross River, Edo, Ondo, Kaduna and Lagos states as part of its nationwide operations.
In Cross River State, operatives raided Iyala Nkun village in Ikom Local Government Area on Sunday, October 4, arresting 46-year-old Adama Inuwa.
The operation led to the seizure of 181 bags of cannabis weighing 1,100 kilogrammes, alongside 17.15 kilogrammes of cannabis seeds.
In Edo State, operatives intercepted a black Toyota Camry at Otuo, Owan East Local Government Area, on Monday, October 5, allegedly carrying 1,049 blocks of compressed cannabis weighing 702.83 kilogrammes.
Three suspects—Monday Orji, 52; Monday Lawal, 40; and Precious Uduegele, 20—were arrested in connection with the seizure.
In a separate operation in Benin City, 26-year-old Ojugo Mercy was arrested at Asoro, off Sakponba Road, with 989 grammes of Loud, 13 grammes of Colorado and 83 grammes of methamphetamine.
In Ondo State, operatives tracked 21-year-old Happy Endurance to a hideout in the Shasha area of Akure on October 5, recovering 29 bags of cannabis weighing 290 kilogrammes.
Another raid on an apartment in Oba-Ile, also in Akure, led to the arrest of 42-year-old Tunde Adebayo, with 35 bags of cannabis weighing 351 kilogrammes.
In Kaduna State, operatives on patrol along the Zaria-Kaduna Expressway arrested 29-year-old Mohammed Musa with 31 jumbo bags and 775 blocks of skunk weighing a combined 1,027 kilogrammes.
At Orile in Lagos, Musbau Balogun Adekunle was arrested on October 6 with 32.51 kilogrammes of skunk and 52.65 kilogrammes of cannabis seeds, bringing the total seizure to 85.16 kilogrammes.
In Taraba State, NDLEA operatives, working with soldiers, arrested Abdulrasheed Mohamed, 31, and Abubakar Saidu, 37, at Chanchanji village in Wukari Local Government Area on Friday, October 9.
The suspects were allegedly found with 166,200 tablets of Tramadol 225mg weighing 107 kilogrammes.
In Kano State, a stop-and-search operation along the Kano-Maiduguri Road on the same day led to the arrest of 32-year-old Yahaya Musa.
The agency said operatives recovered 24,990 capsules of tramadol, 50,000 tablets of diazepam and 22,000 tablets of Exol-5 from him.
In Plateau State, operatives recovered firearms and ammunition during a raid on the residence of 45-year-old Christian Chukwudi Uju at Rukuba Road, Jos, on Thursday, October 8.
The agency said the operation yielded 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 recovery of the weapons alongside illicit drugs raises further concerns about the possible intersection of drug-related activities and access to firearms, although the agency did not establish a direct link between the seized weapons and any specific violent crime.
Meanwhile, the agency said its commands and formations continued public awareness campaigns under its War Against Drug Abuse initiative during the week.
The sensitisation programmes targeted students, staff and members of communities across several states, including Oyo, Ebonyi, Niger, Kano, Lagos and Ogun.
Schools visited included Progressive Grammar School in Tede, Oyo State; Ehugbo Technical College in Afikpo, Ebonyi State; Baptist High School in Lambata, Niger State; Ipara Senior and Junior Community Secondary School in Badagry, Lagos State; and Manbahu Ridwanullah Nursery and Primary School in Olomore, Abeokuta, Ogun State.
In a statement issued on Sunday, October 11, the NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, said the agency’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), commended officers involved in the operations.
Marwa praised personnel of the Lagos, Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Port Harcourt International Airport, Taraba, Kano, Kaduna, Edo, Cross River, Ondo and Plateau commands for what the agency described as intelligence-driven operations.
He urged officers nationwide to sustain the agency’s approach to drug control, combining enforcement operations with public sensitisation and preventive measures.
