By George Ozalla
A 101-year-old great-grandmother, Esther Ogunmabo, has been arrested by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) for allegedly dealing in cannabis, while the agency also intercepted cocaine hidden inside a wrap of edible cassava flour, popularly known as fufu, in a series of operations that yielded illicit drugs worth more than N4.4 billion across the country.
Ogunmabo was arrested on August 15 at Ilisan, Ogun State, with 90 grammes of skunk, a strain of cannabis. The NDLEA said the elderly woman admitted selling the substance in small quantities.
According to the agency, Ogunmabo explained that she went into the drug trade after her provisions shop was destroyed by fire. She reportedly told investigators that one of her daughters, who lives in Lagos, supplied her with cannabis every four days for onward sale.
The development prompted the NDLEA Chairman, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), to direct that the centenarian be granted bail and placed on counselling because of her advanced age. Her daughter, however, was arrested in connection with the alleged supply of the cannabis.
The agency’s operations in Akwa Ibom State produced another unusual discovery when operatives intercepted a wooden boat carrying illicit drugs towards fishing settlements in Cameroon.
The boat was stopped on August 21, leading to the arrest of three suspects and the recovery of 42.622kg of narcotics. Among the substances recovered was 20 grammes of cocaine carefully concealed inside a large wrap of edible cassava fufu, apparently to make it appear like an ordinary food item.
The seizure also included different quantities of skunk, with the NDLEA listing 42.06kg, 1.12kg and another 435 grammes recovered during the operation.
In Lagos, the agency made a major seizure at the country’s ports after intercepting two containers carrying cannabis indica, commonly known as Loud, shipped from Thailand.
The NDLEA said the seizures represented its first interception of illicit drugs shipped from Thailand through the maritime corridor. One of the containers was intercepted at Apapa Port after it was declared to contain dry fish, rice, vehicle spare parts, turmeric soap and inverter batteries.
Instead, operatives discovered 1,090.5kg of Thai Loud concealed in the container. Another 400kg of the same substance was recovered from a second container at Lekki Port. The combined street value of the two consignments was estimated by the agency at more than N4.4 billion.
The agency also intercepted a large consignment of tramadol in the Federal Capital Territory. On August 22, operatives stopped a Hummer bus travelling from Enugu to Zuba and recovered three waybill packages containing 24,410 capsules of tramadol.
A follow-up operation traced the alleged owner of the consignment to Kontagora in Niger State, where 28-year-old Sunday Eze was arrested.
In Ondo State, the NDLEA continued its operations against cannabis cultivation, destroying 10,000kg of skunk cultivated on four hectares of farmland in Ijare forest, Ifedore Local Government Area.
Another operation at Ita-Ogbolu led to the recovery of 210kg of skunk and a Toyota Camry suspected to have been used in connection with the drug trade.
Other commands also recorded significant seizures. In Kwara State, operatives recovered 1.325kg of methamphetamine and cannabis, while in Oyo State, 4.68kg of assorted illicit drugs were recovered from a 65-year-old woman.
In Kano State, 73.3kg of skunk was seized, while three members of the same family were arrested near Seme in Lagos State after 48kg of skunk was recovered from them.
In Abia State, NDLEA operatives seized 14.4kg of Loud, 2.3kg of Colorado, tramadol and Rohypnol in separate operations.
The agency said its enforcement activities were accompanied by continued public awareness campaigns under its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) programme. The sensitisation exercises were held in schools, worship centres, workplaces and communities in different parts of the country.
Marwa commended officers and men of the various commands involved in the operations, urging them to maintain the agency’s approach of combining arrests and seizures with prevention, counselling and public education.
He said sustained enforcement must go hand in hand with efforts to educate communities about the dangers of illicit drug use and trafficking.
