The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has recorded major breakthroughs in nationwide operations, including the arrest of a 101-year-old great-grandmother for dealing in illicit drugs, the interception of cocaine concealed in edible cassava flour popularly known as fufu, and the seizure of Thai Loud worth over N4.4 billion at the Apapa and Lekki ports in Lagos.
NDLEA operatives on August 15, 2026, arrested 101-year-old Esther Ogunmabo in Ilisan, Ogun State, with 90 grams of skunk packaged in retail sachets. The centenarian reportedly told investigators that she turned to drug sales after her provisions shop was destroyed by fire, adding that her daughter supplied the substance to her every four days.
NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd.), directed that Ogunmabo be granted bail and placed on counselling because of her advanced age. Her daughter was subsequently arrested.
In Akwa Ibom, operatives intercepted a wooden boat allegedly transporting illicit drugs to fishing settlements in Cameroon. Three suspects were arrested and 42.622kg of narcotics recovered, including skunk and cocaine.
One of the suspects, 27-year-old Kingsley Effiong John, was found with 20 grams of cocaine hidden inside a large wrap of edible cassava fufu, alongside 435 grams of skunk.
At the Apapa and Lekki ports in Lagos, NDLEA intercepted two containers containing 1,490.5kg of Thai Loud, with a combined street value of more than N4.4 billion. The agency said the consignments, shipped from Thailand, represented its first-ever seizure of illicit drugs transported from the country through the maritime corridor.
At Apapa Port, 1,090.5kg of Thai Loud was concealed in a container declared to contain legitimate goods, while another 400kg was recovered at the Lekki Deep Sea Port, where the drugs were hidden among pallets and covered with A4 paper.
The agency also intercepted 24,410 tramadol capsules in the Federal Capital Territory, destroyed 10,000kg of cannabis from a farm in Ondo State and recovered methamphetamine, cannabis, Loud, Colorado, codeine, diazepam, flunitrazepam and other illicit substances in separate operations across the country.
NDLEA also arrested a 65-year-old woman in Ibadan with 4.68kg of assorted illicit substances, while operations in Kano, Lagos, Abia and other states resulted in additional arrests and drug seizures.
Beyond enforcement, the agency continued its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation campaigns in schools, worship centres, workplaces and communities.
Marwa commended the officers involved in the operations and urged NDLEA personnel nationwide to sustain the agency’s balanced approach to drug control through enforcement, prevention, counselling and public sensitisation.
