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Two elderly Nigerians have been caught in the net of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) as the agency intensifies its fight against drug trafficking.
The duo, Ayuba Ashiru, 80, and Uloma Uchechi Sunday, 82, were taken into custody in Kaduna and Abia states, respectively, following separate sting operations.
Ashiru, who had completed a 10-year jail term for drug-related crimes in 2024, was arrested again on May 14, 2025.
NDLEA officials found him with over two kilograms of skunk in Kaduna’s Sabon Gari area. He confessed to being involved in the illicit drug business for 46 years.
Meanwhile, NDLEA agents raided Mrs. Sunday’s home in Umuaguma Ntigha Uzor village on May 17.
They discovered multiple drugs including methamphetamine, tramadol, and skunk, alongside a cash sum of N130,600. Her daughter, Chisom Uchechi, 32, was also detained.
The elderly woman admitted that they had inherited the trade from her late son who originally ran the operation.
The agency also reported two major seizures at Nigerian ports. At Onne Port in Rivers State, authorities confiscated three million tablets of tapentadol and carisoprodol, an illegal shipment estimated to be worth N2.1 billion.
In Lagos, officers intercepted 169,800 bottles of codeine syrup at the Apapa Port on May 13.
The shipment, worth more than N1.1 billion, had been falsely declared as auto parts from India.
Further arrests and drug seizures involving tramadol, cannabis, and skunk were made in other states, including Niger, Kwara, Nasarawa, Jigawa, Taraba, and Lagos, as the NDLEA continues its nationwide crackdown.