NDLEA Arrests US-Based Grandma With 9.45kg Cannabis At Lagos Airport, Physically Challenged Woman In Delta

Daud Olatunji

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has arrested a 62-year-old Nigerian-American grandmother, Anetor Gloria Ubong, with 9.45 kilogrammes of high-grade cannabis, popularly known as loud, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.

The agency also arrested a physically challenged 46-year-old woman, Helen Bakporo Samson, with six kilogrammes of cannabis in Warri, Delta State, as part of a series of nationwide operations targeting drug trafficking and the distribution of illicit substances.

The arrests, according to the NDLEA, were among several enforcement operations that resulted in the seizure of large quantities of cannabis, pharmaceutical opioids and other controlled substances across different states.

In a statement issued on Sunday by the agency’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, Ubong was arrested on Wednesday, October 21, after arriving in Lagos aboard a United Airlines flight from Houston, United States.

The 62-year-old realtor, who reportedly resides in Richmond, Texas, and holds Nigerian and United States passports, was allegedly found with 9.45kg of loud concealed in one of her two checked-in suitcases.

The NDLEA said a search of the luggage uncovered 18 parcels of the substance hidden inside a box and covered with gift-wrapping paper.

During questioning, Ubong reportedly claimed that her daughter and the daughter’s future brother-in-law had delivered the box to her residence in the United States for onward delivery in Nigeria to her daughter’s fiancé, identified as Jibola.

The agency’s statement did not indicate whether the daughter, the prospective brother-in-law or the intended recipient had been arrested or questioned over the alleged drug consignment.

In a separate operation, Samson was arrested at Enhere Junction, Warri, on Monday, October 19, with six kilogrammes of skunk, another form of cannabis.

The circumstances surrounding the alleged involvement of the two women were not immediately clear beyond the details provided by the agency.

The NDLEA also reported the arrest of a 51-year-old suspect, Peter Ugochukwu, in Warri, Delta State, following the recovery of a large consignment of pharmaceutical opioids.

The agency listed the seized substances as 29,350 capsules of tramadol, 6,620 tablets of 200mg tramadol, 4,116 bottles of codeine syrup, 11,340 tablets of Rohypnol, 3,500 tablets of diazepam, 300 ampoules of pentazocine injection and 200 ampoules of diazepam injection.

Other substances reportedly recovered included quantities of tramadol 225mg, Molly and Cocodamol.

According to the NDLEA, Ugochukwu was transferred to its custody by the Nigeria Police Force in Delta State alongside a white Hummer bus.

In Lagos, operatives arrested a 41-year-old suspect, Eletu Rasheedat, in the Eti Osa area on Friday, October 23.

The operation reportedly led to the recovery of 5,820 diazepam pills, 780 tramadol tablets, 3.7kg of skunk and 230.25 litres of skuchies, a locally produced alcoholic mixture associated with the misuse of psychoactive substances.

The seizures formed part of the agency’s wider campaign against the circulation of illicit drugs and the abuse of pharmaceutical products.

In Kano State, NDLEA operatives arrested a 30-year-old suspect, Murtala Lawan, in the Gerawa area on Thursday, October 22.

The agency said 159 blocks of cannabis weighing 97.2kg were recovered during the operation.