The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has rearrested an 83-year-old convicted drug offender, Uloma Uchechi Sunday, after operatives allegedly found quantities of methamphetamine and Colorado concealed around her waist, barely a year after she was prosecuted and convicted for a similar offence.
The Agency also arrested a South African woman, Gebashe Sithandiwe Jessie, at the Port Harcourt International Airport, Omagwa, Rivers State, with 30 parcels of Thai Loud weighing 32.74 kilograms, as operatives recorded major drug seizures across Lagos, Taraba, Kano, Kaduna, Edo, Cross River, Ondo and Plateau states.
Director, Media and Advocacy of the NDLEA, Femi Babafemi, disclosed this in a statement on Sunday.
According to the Agency, Uloma was arrested on Wednesday, October 7, 2026, at her home in Ite-Uzo, Umuaguma, Obingwa Local Government Area of Abia State, with quantities of methamphetamine and Colorado allegedly tied around her waist and concealed with a wrapper.
The NDLEA said her arrest followed credible intelligence indicating that she allegedly operated a notorious drug joint harbouring criminal elements accused of terrorising the community.
It was not Uloma’s first encounter with the Agency. She was previously arrested on May 17, 2025, at her residence in the same village alongside her daughter, Chisom Uchechi, 32.
Operatives recovered 50 grams of methamphetamine, 522 grams of skunk, 260 grams of fresh cannabis leaves and 12 grams of tramadol during the operation.
According to the NDLEA, the mother and daughter pleaded guilty and were subsequently sentenced to 12 months’ imprisonment or a fine of N200,000 each. They paid the fines and were released by the court.
The Agency alleged that Uloma subsequently returned to the illicit drug trade and expanded her operation by establishing a drug joint where she allegedly harboured dangerous characters.
In Rivers State, NDLEA operatives working in collaboration with the Nigeria Customs Service arrested South African national Jessie at the Port Harcourt International Airport with 30 parcels of Thai Loud, a strain of cannabis, weighing 32.74kg. The illicit drugs were allegedly concealed in two travelling bags.
The suspect had travelled from Thailand through Doha aboard Qatar Airways flight QR1431 before arriving in Port Harcourt.
The NDLEA said Jessie claimed during preliminary interrogation that she had previously trafficked through other African countries and was attempting to expand her route to Port Harcourt when she was arrested.
At the Import Shed of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos, operatives intercepted a consignment of nine cartons shipped from Pakistan aboard a Royal Air Maroc flight.
The cargo, which arrived on September 29, was placed under surveillance before a joint examination on Tuesday, October 6, uncovered 354,000 tablets of Tapentadol 250mg weighing 307.20kg.
In another operation at the Lagos airport, a consolidated cargo from the United Kingdom was monitored following its arrival on September 29.
A search subsequently uncovered six Ghana-Must-Go bags containing 70 parcels of Colorado weighing 75.90kg.
A clearing agent, John Edrah, 54, was arrested on September 30 in connection with the shipment.
The operation later led to the arrest of a 54-year-old Uber driver, Taofiq Ajibola, while allegedly collecting one of the bags at a logistics company in the Mafoluku area of Oshodi.
Adetunji Adebayo and Kazeem Damola Dosunmu, 48, a clothing trader, were also arrested after allegedly showing up for the remaining five bags.
The Agency said Ajibola claimed the drugs were sent by a United Kingdom-based associate identified as Lukman Sa’idu, while Dosunmu allegedly said his consignments were sent by another UK-based individual identified only as Yusuf.
In Cross River State, NDLEA operatives raided Iyala Nkun village in Ikom Local Government Area on Sunday, October 4, following surveillance.
The operation led to the arrest of Adama Inuwa, 46, with 181 bags of cannabis sativa weighing 1,100kg and another 17.15kg of cannabis seeds.
In Edo State, operatives intercepted a black Toyota Camry at Otuo, Owan East Local Government Area, on Monday, October 5, allegedly conveying 1,049 blocks of compressed cannabis weighing 702.83kg.
Monday Orji, 52; Monday Lawal, 40; and Precious Uduegele, 20, were arrested in connection with the consignment.
In a separate raid in the state, Ojugo Mercy, 26, was arrested at Asoro, off Sakponba Road, Benin City, with 989 grams of Loud, 13 grams of Colorado and 83 grams of methamphetamine.
In Ondo State, operatives trailed a 21-year-old suspect, Happy Endurance, to her hideout in the Shasha area of Akure, where 29 bags of cannabis weighing 290kg were recovered on October 5.
On the same day, a raid on an apartment at Oba-Ile, Akure, led to the arrest of Tunde Adebayo, 42, with 35 bags of cannabis weighing 351kg.
The operations extended to Taraba State, where NDLEA operatives, supported by soldiers, arrested Abdulrasheed Mohamed, 31, and Abubakar Saidu, 37, at Chanchanji village, Wukari Local Government Area, on Friday, October 9.
They were allegedly found with 166,200 tablets of Tramadol 225mg weighing 107kg.
In Kano State, a stop-and-search operation along the Kano-Maiduguri Road on the same day led to the arrest of Yahaya Musa, 32, with 24,990 capsules of tramadol, 50,000 tablets of diazepam and 22,000 tablets of Exol-5.
NDLEA operatives patrolling the Zaria-Kaduna Expressway in Kaduna State also arrested Mohammed Musa, 29, with 31 jumbo bags of skunk and 775 blocks of the same substance weighing a combined 1,027kg.
In Orile, Lagos, Musbau Balogun Adekunle was arrested on October 6 with 32.51kg of skunk and 52.65kg of cannabis seeds, bringing the total weight of the seizure to 85.16kg.
Meanwhile, a drug operation in Plateau State yielded firearms and ammunition.
Operatives who raided the residence of 45-year-old Christian Chukwudi Uju on Rukuba Road, Jos, on Thursday, October 8, recovered 47 grams of methamphetamine alongside two pump-action rifles, one locally made gun, 199 live cartridges, five rounds of 7.62mm ammunition and one round of 9mm ammunition, according to the Agency.
