The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested an 83-year-old woman, Uloma Uchechi Sunday, with consignments of methamphetamine and Colorado in Abia State, barely a year after she was convicted for drug-related offences.
The agency also arrested a South African woman, Gebashe Sithandiwe Jessie, at the Port Harcourt International Airport with 32.74kg of cannabis, as it recorded seizures of illicit drugs across several states.
In a statement on Sunday, the NDLEA through its spokesperson Femi Babafemi said Uloma was arrested on October 7 at her residence in Ite-Uzo, Umuaguma, Obingwa Local Government Area of Abia State, with methamphetamine and Colorado allegedly tied around her waist with a wrapper.
The agency said her arrest followed intelligence reports that she operated a drug joint allegedly patronised by criminal elements terrorising the community.
It recalled that Uloma was first arrested on May 17, 2025, alongside her 32-year-old daughter, Chisom Uchechi, with 50 grammes of methamphetamine, 522 grammes of skunk, 260 grammes of fresh cannabis leaves and 12 grammes of tramadol.
According to the statement, both women pleaded guilty and were sentenced to 12 months’ imprisonment or a fine of N200,000 each. They paid the fines and were released.
The NDLEA said the octogenarian subsequently returned to the drug trade and allegedly established a drug joint.
At the Port Harcourt International Airport, Omagwa, Rivers State, operatives working with the Nigeria Customs Service arrested Jessie with 30 parcels of Thai Loud – a type of cannabis, weighing 32.74kg.
The agency said the suspect travelled from Thailand through Doha aboard a Qatar Airways flight and allegedly confessed to trafficking drugs through other African countries before attempting to expand her operations to Port Harcourt.
In another operation at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, NDLEA operatives intercepted 354,000 tablets of tapentadol, weighing 307.20kg, in nine cartons shipped from Pakistan.
The consignment arrived aboard a Royal Air Maroc flight on September 29 and was examined on October 6.
The agency also intercepted 70 parcels of Colorado weighing 75.90kg in six Ghana-Must-Go bags contained in a consolidated cargo from the United Kingdom.
It said a clearing agent, John Edrah, 54, was arrested on September 30, followed by an Uber driver, Taofiq Ajibola, 54, who allegedly came to collect one of the bags in Mafoluku, Oshodi, Lagos.
Two other suspects, Adetunji Adebayo and Kazeem Damola Dosunmu, 48, were subsequently arrested over the remaining bags. The agency said Ajibola claimed the drugs were sent by a UK-based associate, Lukman Sa’idu, while Dosunmu attributed his consignment to another UK-based man identified as Yusuf.
Across other states, the NDLEA reported several drug seizures and arrests.