The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested 80-year-old Ayuba Ashiru in Kaduna State for possessing 2.3 kilogrammes of skunk, a potent strain of cannabis, packaged for retail.
In a statement on Sunday, NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi said Ashiru was arrested on May 14, 2025, at Barazana Street in the Dogarawa area of Sabon Gari Local Government Area.
The arrest followed actionable intelligence gathered by the agency.
The NDLEA revealed that Ashiru had previously been convicted for drug offences and served a 10-year prison sentence between 2014 and 2024.
“He claimed to have been in the illicit drug trade for the past 46 years,” the statement reads.
NDLEA nabs grandma in Abia
In a separate operation in Abia State on May 17, operatives arrested an 82-year-old woman, Uloma Uchechi Sunday, and her 32-year-old daughter, Chisom Uchechi, at their home in Umuaguma Ntigha Uzor village.
A raid led to the seizure of methamphetamine, tramadol, skunk, and ₦130,600 in cash.
“The grandma confessed that she and her daughter took over the drug trade after her son, who started the business, died two years ago,” the statement reads.
Further intensifying its clampdown, NDLEA announced the interception of three million pills of tapentadol and carisoprodol royal—estimated at N2.1 billion in street value—at the Port Harcourt ports complex in Onne, Rivers State.
“The seizure was made on Wednesday, 14th May during a joint examination of the container by NDLEA officers, men of Customs Service and other security agencies,” the statement added.
In another maritime operation, a watch-listed container declared as containing new car parts from India was intercepted at the Apapa Seaport in Lagos on Tuesday, May 13.
The inspection uncovered 169,800 bottles of codeine syrup, valued at over N1.1 billion.
NDLEA nabs suspects in Kwarai
In Kwara State, two suspects—Abdulwahab Quadir and Abdulraheem Ismail—were apprehended on May 16 after 199,200 pills of tramadol were recovered from them.
A follow-up raid at Favour Lodge in Ilorin led to the arrest of Ibrahim Oladimeji Abdulateef, an HND 1 student at Kwara State Polytechnic.
He was caught with 650 grams of Loud, a potent cannabis strain already portioned into 149 cups for retail.
