NDLEA says she had methamphetamine and Colorado tied round her waist, in a weekly roundup that also covers tonnes of cannabis and a South African held at Port Harcourt airport

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has re-arrested an 83-year-old woman, Uloma Sunday, in Abia State with methamphetamine and Colorado, a synthetic cannabinoid, about 17 months after her first arrest.

Femi Babafemi, the agency’s director of media and advocacy, said in a statement on Sunday that operatives arrested her on 7 October at her residence in Ite-Uzo, Umuaguma, Obingwa Local Government Area. The substances were allegedly concealed around her waist with a wrapper.

He said the arrest followed intelligence that she ran a drug joint where criminal elements who terrorise the community gather.

NDLEA recalls 2025 arrest and sentence

According to the statement, Sunday was first arrested on 17 May 2025 with her 32-year-old daughter, Chisom Uchechi, at the same residence. They were found with 50 grammes of methamphetamine, 522 grammes of skunk, 260 grammes of fresh cannabis leaves and 12 grammes of tramadol.

Both women pleaded guilty and were sentenced to 12 months’ imprisonment or a N200,000 fine each. They paid the fine and were released. The NDLEA alleged that Sunday returned to the trade and escalated it by setting up the drug joint.

NDLEA intercepts drugs at airports

At Port Harcourt International Airport, Omagwa, NDLEA operatives, working with the Nigeria Customs Service, arrested a South African woman, Gebashe Sithandiwe Jessie, with 32.74 kilogrammes of Thai Loud, a strain of cannabis. The 30 parcels were hidden in two bags. She arrived from Thailand via Doha on Qatar Airways flight QR1431. The agency said she confessed to trafficking drugs through other African countries before trying to expand her route to Port Harcourt.

At Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos, operatives intercepted 354,000 tablets of tapentadol, weighing 307.20 kilogrammes, in nine cartons from Pakistan. The consignment arrived on 29 September, and a joint examination on 6 October uncovered the tablets.

Operatives also seized 70 parcels of Colorado weighing 75.90 kilogrammes from a consolidated cargo from the United Kingdom, which arrived on the same day. A clearing agent, John Edrah, 54, was arrested on 30 September. Taofiq Ajibola, 54, an Uber driver, was arrested while collecting one bag in the Oshodi area, followed by Adetunji Adebayo and clothing trader Kazeem Damola Dosunmu, 48.

Babafemi said Ajibola claimed a UK-based associate, Lukman Sa’idu, sent the drugs, while Dosunmu said his consignments came from another UK-based man, Yusuf.

NDLEA seizes cannabis in several states

• Cross River: Adama Inuwa, 46, was arrested on 4 October in Iyala Nkun village, Ikom, with 1,100 kilogrammes of cannabis sativa and 17.15 kilogrammes of seeds.
• Edo: a Toyota Camry carrying 702.83 kilogrammes of compressed cannabis was stopped at Otuo, Owan East, on 5 October. Monday Orji, 52, Monday Lawal, 40, and Precious Uduegele, 20, were arrested. Ojugo Mercy, 26, was held in Benin City with 989 grammes of Loud, 13 grammes of Colorado and 83 grammes of methamphetamine.
• Ondo: Happy Endurance, 21, was arrested in Akure with 290 kilogrammes of cannabis, and Tunde Adebayo, 42, with 351 kilogrammes, both on 5 October.
• Kaduna: Mohammed Musa, 29, was arrested on the Zaria-Kaduna expressway with 1,027 kilogrammes of skunk.
• Lagos: Musbau Balogun Adekunle was arrested in Orile on 6 October with 32.51 kilogrammes of skunk and 52.65 kilogrammes of seeds.
• Taraba: operatives and soldiers arrested Abdulrasheed Mohamed, 31, and Abubakar Saidu, 37, at Chanchanji, Wukari, on 9 October with 166,200 tablets of tramadol 225mg.
• Kano-Maiduguri road: Yahaya Musa, 32, was arrested with 24,990 capsules of tramadol, 50,000 tablets of diazepam and 22,000 tablets of Exol-5.

NDLEA recovers rifles in Jos

On 8 October, operatives arrested Christian Chukwudi Uju, 45, at his residence on Rukuba Road, Jos, Plateau State. They recovered 47 grammes of methamphetamine, two pump-action rifles, a locally made gun, 199 live cartridges, five rounds of 7.62mm ammunition and one round of 9mm ammunition.

NDLEA commands also held awareness lectures under the War Against Drug Abuse campaign in schools in Oyo, Ebonyi, Niger, Kano, Lagos and Ogun states during the week.

The agency’s chairman, Buba Marwa, commended the operatives involved and urged officers nationwide to sustain the agency’s balanced approach to drug control.