NDLEA Re-Arrests 83-Year-Old Grandmother Over Drugs a Year After Conviction

Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested an 83-year-old woman, Mrs. Uloma Uchechi Sunday, for the second time in under a year, after finding methamphetamine and Colorado tied around her waist with a wrapper.

She was picked up on Wednesday, October 7, at her home in Ite-Uzo, Umuaguma, Obingwa LGA, Abia State, following intelligence that she runs a notorious drug joint harbouring criminal elements who terrorise the community. According to NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi, her first arrest came on May 17, 2025, when officers found 50 grams of methamphetamine, 522 grams of skunk, 260 grams of fresh cannabis leaves and 12 grams of tramadol at her residence, along with her daughter, Chisom Uchechi, 32. Both pleaded guilty and were sentenced to 12 months' imprisonment or a N200,000 fine each. They paid the fine and were freed. Babafemi said she "promptly returned to the criminal trade" and expanded it by opening a drug joint.

Other arrests and seizures

At the Port Harcourt International Airport, Omagwa, NDLEA officers working with the Customs Service arrested a South African woman, Gebashe Sithandiwe Jessie, with 30 parcels of Thai Loud, a type of cannabis, weighing 32.74kg and hidden in two travelling bags. She had flown from Thailand via Doha on Qatar Airways flight QR1431. She reportedly admitted to trafficking through other African countries and said she was extending her route to Port Harcourt when she was caught.

At the Lagos airport, officers tracked a cargo from the United Kingdom that arrived on September 29. Six Ghana-Must-Go bags contained 70 parcels of Colorado, a synthetic cannabinoid, weighing 75.90kg. Four suspects were arrested:

• John Edrah, 54, a clearing agent, on September 30
• Taofiq Ajibola, 54, an Uber driver, while collecting one bag at a logistics company in Mafoluku, Oshodi
• Adetunji Adebayo
• Kazeem Damola Dosunmu, 48, a clothing trader, who came for the remaining five bags

Ajibola said the drugs were sent by a UK-based associate, Lukman Sa'idu, while Dosunmu named another UK-based man, Yusuf, as his source.

Following surveillance, NDLEA officers raided Iyala Nkun village in Ikom LGA, Cross River State, on Sunday, October 4. They arrested Adama Inuwa, 46, and seized 181 bags of cannabis sativa weighing 1,100kg, plus 17.15kg of cannabis seeds.