The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has confirmed the arrest of a 101-year-old woman, Esther Ogunmabo, for alleged drug dealing.
The centenarian was arrested in the most unusual way on Saturday, August 15, 2026, at Ilisan, Ogun State.
According to the government agency, the grandmother was found with 90 grams of skunk, a strain of cannabis, packed in retail sachets.
During questioning, Ogunmabo reportedly told the operatives that she sold the substance to people in the community.
She explained that she turned to the illicit drug business after her provision shop was destroyed by fire.
The suspect reportedly said one of her daughters, who lives in Lagos, supplied her with the cannabis every four days, which she then sold in small quantities.
However, NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.) directed that the 101-year-old suspect be granted bail and placed on counseling because of her advanced age.
Her daughter has, however, been arrested in connection with the case.
The development was disclosed in a statement issued on Sunday by NDLEA Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi.
The agency said it also seized large consignments of Loud, a strain of synthetic cannabis, worth more than ₦4.4 billion at the Apapa and Lekki ports in Lagos.
Naija News understands that the latest results were achieved during operations carried out across the country’s land and maritime borders as the NDLEA intensified its efforts to disrupt the activities of drug traffickers.
Cocaine Raps In Fufu
In Akwa Ibom State, NDLEA operatives intercepted a wooden boat on the high seas while acting on credible intelligence.
The boat was reportedly conveying illicit drugs to fishing settlements in the Republic of Cameroon.
Three suspects were arrested during the operation conducted on Friday, August 21.
They were identified as 29-year-old Etima Effiong Eekpo, who had 1.120kg of skunk; 33-year-old Otobong Eyoh Etukudoh, who was found with 42.060kg of skunk; and 27-year-old Kingsley Effiong John.
John was allegedly found with 20 grammes of cocaine cleverly concealed inside a large wrap of edible cassava fufu. He was also carrying 435 grammes of skunk.
A total of 42.622kg of illicit drugs was recovered from the three suspects.
The boat was heading towards Ine Isu, Ine Mbah and Ine Ikot Itie Udung fishing ports in Cameroon.
In another major breakthrough, the NDLEA recorded what it described as its first-ever seizure of illicit drugs shipped from Thailand through the maritime corridor.
Two containers containing cannabis indica, popularly known as Loud, were intercepted at the Apapa and Lekki ports in Lagos.
The combined street value of the consignments was put at more than ₦4.4 billion.
Both containers were loaded at the Port of Laem Chabang in Thailand, raising concerns over what the agency described as a new trafficking route being exploited by drug syndicates to smuggle synthetic cannabis into Nigeria.
At the Apapa Port, a container declared to contain dry fish, rice, vehicle spare parts, turmeric soap and inverter batteries was examined jointly by NDLEA, Customs and other agencies on Friday, August 21.
The examination revealed 1,090.5kg of Thai Loud packed in 54 cartons containing 2,181 sachets of 500 grammes each.
At the Lekki Deep Sea Port, another container placed on the NDLEA watchlist was monitored by the agency’s Marine Special Operations Unit before it was jointly examined on Wednesday, August 19.
Four of the seven pallets in the container were found to contain Thai Loud.
The consignment comprised 96 cartons containing 400 parcels weighing a total of 400kg.
The remaining three pallets contained 798 rims of A4 paper, which were allegedly used to conceal the drugs.
In the Federal Capital Territory, NDLEA operatives intercepted three waybill packages containing 24,410 pills of tramadol capsules.
The packages were found inside a Hummer bus travelling from Enugu to Zuba on Saturday, August 22.
A follow-up operation in Niger State led to the arrest of the alleged owner of the consignment, 28-year-old Sunday Eze, in Kontagora.
He was subsequently transferred to Abuja.
NDLEA operatives in Ondo State also raided a cannabis farm at Ijare Forest in Ifedore Local Government Area.
The operation followed the arrest of three suspected cannabis planters at the same location on August 16.
During the raid on August 19, the agency destroyed about 10,000kg of skunk cultivated across four hectares of the forest.
In a separate operation at Ita-Ogbolu in Akure North Local Government Area, 210kg of skunk was recovered alongside a Toyota Camry car with registration number AGL 223 JH.
The vehicle was said to belong to Sylvester Dibiagu Anthony, who is currently at large.
In Kwara State, NDLEA operatives on patrol along the Ogbomosho-Ilorin Expressway intercepted a Toyota Starlet without a registration number.
A search of the vehicle led to the recovery of 1.325kg of methamphetamine, wrapped in black nylon bags, alongside quantities of cannabis sativa.
A 22-year-old suspect, Muhammadu Usman, was arrested in connection with the seizure.
In Oyo State, NDLEA operatives arrested a 65-year-old woman, Adebayo Kaosarat, at Akobo-Ojuirin area of Ibadan.
Kaosarat was arrested on Friday, August 21, with different types of illicit drugs weighing a combined 4.68kg.
The substances recovered from her included 1.795kg of Scottish Loud, 1.66kg of tramadol, 600 grammes of codeine syrup, 125 grammes of diazepam and 50 grammes of flunitrazepam.
In Kano State, a raid at Hadeija Road on Monday, August 17, led to the arrest of 31-year-old Chibuzor Madueke.
NDLEA operatives recovered 98 blocks of skunk weighing 73.3kg from him.
At Seme in the Badagry area of Lagos State, three members of the same family were also arrested.
The suspects, identified as 52-year-old Nasiru Tijjani, 27-year-old Moshood Tijjani and 27-year-old Salami Tijjani, were arrested at Ashipa, near the Seme border, with 48kg of skunk.
In Abia State, NDLEA officers raided the residence of 36-year-old Ikechukwu Anthony Iwuno at Umuobia Olokoro, Umuahia South Local Government Area.
The operation on Thursday, August 20, led to the recovery of 14.4kg of Loud, 2.3kg of Colorado, 386 grammes of tramadol and 134 grammes of Rohypnol.
Beyond arrests and seizures, the NDLEA said its commands and formations across the country continued their War Against Drug Abuse sensitization campaign during the week.
The campaign was taken to schools, worship centers, workplaces, and communities.
Among the beneficiaries were students and staff of Umar Bn Khattab College for Islamic Studies in Ungogo Local Government Area of Kano; Markaz Al-Furqan Center of Islamic and Arabic Teaching in Kishi, Oyo State; School of Nursing and Midwifery in Birnin Kebbi, Kebbi State; and Mu’assasah Tahfizui Qur’an Islamiya School in Ibi, Taraba State.
Members of the Scout Association of Nigeria at the first National Youth Camp in Benin City, Edo State, also participated in the campaign.
The Idiroko Special Area Command of the agency also paid a WADA advocacy visit to the Chairman of Ipokia Local Government Area of Ogun State, Johnson Avoseh.
Marwa commended officers and men of the Ogun, Apapa, Lekki, Seme, Akwa Ibom, Ondo, Oyo, Kwara, Kano, Abia and FCT Commands for the successful operations.
He urged NDLEA personnel across the country to maintain what he described as a balanced approach to the agency’s drug control efforts.
Marwa said the agency must continue to combine enforcement operations with prevention, public awareness and other measures aimed at reducing drug abuse in the country.
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