NDLEA arrests grandpas supplying drugs to teens, intercepts China consignment, nabs wanted couple in raids

Crime Diary

ABUJA, Nigeria (NPA) — The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested two elderly men in Umuahia, Abia State, for allegedly selling illicit substances to teenage secondary school students.

An 84‑year‑old pensioner, Godfrey Orji, was apprehended by security guards at Saint Silas Secondary School, Old Umuahia, after he was caught supplying drugs to two teenage students. He was handed over to the police and later transferred to NDLEA custody. One of the students, a 15‑year‑old SS2 boy, confessed that Orji had been his supplier and that he resold the drugs to fellow classmates.

Similarly, 75‑year‑old Godwin Obulunbiya Obiora was arrested at his patent medicine store on Club Road, Umuahia, where NDLEA operatives recovered 4.64 kilograms of opioids, including tramadol and diazepam. Both men are expected to face prosecution, while the teenagers have been placed on counselling and rehabilitation.

In Lagos, NDLEA operatives intercepted a 9.5‑kilogram consignment of ADB Chminaca, a synthetic cannabinoid classified as a dangerous new psychoactive substance, concealed in a carton at a courier firm. Another seizure at a logistics company uncovered 300 grams of Loud, a potent strain of cannabis, hidden in ladies’ handbags.

According to a statement signed by Femi Babafemi, Director, Media & Advocacy, DLEA Headquarters, Abuja, the agency also raided the home of wanted dealer Lukman Badmus, alias Lukman Ogombo, in Ajah, recovering codeine syrup and skunk. A follow‑up operation at his wife’s shop on Lagos Island led to further seizures, including 42 compressed blocks of skunk weighing 22.5 kilograms.

Elsewhere, NDLEA officers intercepted methamphetamine concealed in custard containers along the Okene/Lokoja highway in Kogi State, arrested a wanted couple in Ekiti linked to a 117‑kilogram skunk seizure, and raided multiple locations in Oyo and Edo States, recovering over 5,000 kilograms of cannabis and arresting several suspects, including a 75‑year‑old woman.

NDLEA Chairman/Chief Executive, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd) commended the officers across Abia, Ekiti, Oyo, Lagos, Kogi, and Edo Commands for their supply‑reduction efforts, balanced with ongoing War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation activities in schools, worship centres, workplaces, and communities nationwide.