NDLEA arrests 75-year-old grandpa for drug trafficking
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, has arrested a 75-year-old man, Uchelue Ikechukwu, for drug trafficking in Anambra State.
NDLEA spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, disclosed in a statement on Sunday that Ikechukwu was caught with 26.7 kilograms of skunk during a raid at Umudioka, Dunukofia Local Government Area, on Thursday, August 28, 2025.
Babafemi said he was arrested among five other suspects, Eneh Makuo, Emmanuel Chiemeli, Uwakwe Matthew, Chukwujekwu Ehirim, Ifeanyichukwu Olisa, and Odoh Chukwuma, in Nkwelle and Amichi areas of Anambra with different quantities of opioids and skunk.
He also stated that NDLEA operatives, with the support of security agencies and local vigilantes, arrested 30-year-old Alfa Andrew on Tuesday, August 26, at his 71.5-hectare cannabis farm in Mayodoga forest, Sardauna Local Government Area of Taraba State. A Dane gun was recovered from him, and 178,750 kilograms of skunk were destroyed on the farm.
In Kaduna, officers intercepted a fuel tanker at the Abuja/Kaduna tollgate on Friday, August 29, concealing 104,900 capsules of tramadol allegedly bound for insurgents in Borno State. The driver, Hassan Buba, was arrested. Another suspect, Kabir Sulaiman, 45, was caught with 34.15 kilograms of skunk at the Gwargwaje-Zaria checkpoint the following day.
Similarly, in Maiduguri, Borno State, a major supplier of illicit opioids, 33-year-old Uchenna Umeh, was arrested on Saturday, August 30. Recovered from his apartment were 30,640 tramadol pills, 7,940 rohypnol tablets, and ₦7,999,200 in cash.
Other arrests include: Abubakar Dauda, 36, caught with 79,040 pills of tramadol and diazepam at Mararaba Karu, and Babangida Tungura, 47, arrested in Lafia with 30,410 pills of tramadol, rohypnol, and 38 bottles of codeine syrup concealed in a freezer.
Also, Mohammed Ali, 23, was arrested at Ngorore with 15,000 tramadol capsules, while Hamisu Abdullahi was linked to 58 kilograms of skunk concealed in pepper sacks in Adamawa.
NDLEA also said the agency made multiple arrests, including Ashiru Garba, 20, and Aminu Abdu, 22, with skunk and 25,000 exol-5 pills; Ali Muhammad, 37, and Muhammad Maishanu, 42, with 8,080 bottles of new psychoactive substances; and Alhasaan Musa, 25, with 250,000 exol-5 tablets.
In addition, Ajayi Ayodeji Idowu, 42, was arrested in Ado-Ekiti with 5.3 kilograms of Loud and Colorado strains of cannabis and 2.5 grams of methamphetamine.
Meanwhile, NDLEA commands nationwide continued their War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitization campaigns in schools, religious institutions, workplaces, palaces, and communities.
NDLEA Chairman, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), commended officers in the affected states for the arrests and seizures, while urging all commands to intensify advocacy and sensitization efforts across the country.
NDLEA arrests 75-year-old grandpa for drug trafficking
