Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) in Rivers State have arrested an 80-year-old grandfather, Chika Ugwoji, for dealing in illicit substances.

The octogenarian was found in possession of 800 grammes of skunk at the time of his arrest in Ahoada on Tuesday, July 14.

Also, the agency’s ongoing efforts to dismantle a transnational drug trafficking syndicate smuggling tramadol from Togo through the Benin Republic into Nigeria recorded another success with the interception of two long trailers used to transport 1,630,000 pills of tramadol 250mg concealed in fabricated compartments across multiple borders into Lagos.

The intelligence-led interdiction came barely a week after NDLEA operatives recovered 558,900 pills of the same psychoactive substance from a false-bottom compartment of a truck that entered Lagos through the Togo-Benin Republic route.

One of the two trucks, which was already heading to Kano, was tracked and intercepted on July 2, 2026, along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, where NDLEA officers recovered 853,000 pills of tramadol 250mg concealed in a fabricated compartment beneath the trailer’s cargo floor. The 22-year-old driver, Jabir Kabiru, was arrested.

Two days later, on July 4, NDLEA operatives, acting on processed intelligence, tracked and intercepted the second trailer on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway while it was heading to Kano. A total of 777,000 pills of tramadol 250mg concealed in a fabricated compartment beneath the truck’s cargo floor were recovered, while the 22-year-old driver, Muhammed Nuhu, was arrested.

Investigations revealed that all three trucks and consignments intercepted on June 21, July 2 and July 4 belonged to the same transnational drug trafficking syndicate operating along the Togo-Benin Republic-Nigeria corridor.

Two consignments of Canadian Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis, with a combined weight of 4.70kg, were also intercepted at the import shed of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos.

The consignments, which arrived at the Lagos airport from Canada in cartons boldly labelled “Odugwu”, were flown in on British Airways and Ethiopian Airlines flights on June 24 and July 3, respectively.

Two cargo agents, Ali Rotimi Samson and Orimolade Oluwagbenga, linked to the shipments were initially arrested. Subsequently, another suspect, Edeh Onyeamachi Stanislus, who showed up to take delivery of the consignments from a logistics company, was also arrested.

A 44-year-old businesswoman, Chioma Nneka Mokeme, identified as the actual owner of the consignments, was eventually arrested on July 7, 2026, in collaboration with the Area C Command of the Nigeria Police, Surulere, Lagos.

Chioma, who claimed to be in the printing business, said her friend, Agbons Collins, who lives in Canada, introduced her to the illicit trade.

In Edo State, a couple, Christian Chukwuka, 32, and Nwanneka Christian, 33, were arrested on Monday, July 13, following a raid on their illicit drug warehouse along Sapele Road, Benin City. During the operation, officers seized 22 bags of cannabis sativa weighing 219.5kg and compressed blocks of Canadian Loud with a gross weight of 192.67kg.

A Chadian woman, Hajara Abdullahi, 38, and her Nigerian accomplice, Abdulkarim Jidda, 44, were arrested in Lagos following the seizure of 50,000 pills of tramadol 225mg intercepted in Kogi State on Sunday, July 12.

The consignment was eventually traced to the two suspects, who were tracked to Lagos and arrested in the Apapa area of the state.

The War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) social advocacy activities by NDLEA Commands equally continued across the country in the past week.

Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohammed Buba Marwa (Rtd) has commended the officers and men of MMIA, Lagos, Rivers, Edo and Kogi Commands of the Agency for the arrests and seizures.

He  noted that their efforts and those of their compatriots across the country have contributed in no small measure to ongoing drug control efforts across the country and charged them to remain vigilant at all times.