75-YEAR-OLD ARRESTED AS NDLEA DESTROYS 178,000KG OF SKUNK IN TARABA
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a 75-year-old man, Uchelue Ikechukwu, alongside several other suspects, in a string of nationwide operations that uncovered massive consignments of illicit drugs, including cannabis, tramadol, opioids, and new psychoactive substances.
In a statement signed by the Director Media & Advocacy NDLEA, Femi Babafemi reveals that the agency also destroyed 178,750 kilograms of skunk cultivated on a 71.5-hectare cannabis farm in Mayodoga forest, Sardauna Local Government Area of Taraba State. The farm was linked to a 30-year-old suspect, Alfa Andrew, who was arrested with a Dane gun during the raid.
In Anambra State, Ikechukwu was arrested in Umudioka, Dunukofia LGA with 26.7kg of skunk. Other suspects—Eneh Makuo, Emmanuel Chiemeli, Uwakwe Matthew, Chukwujekwu Ehirim, Ifeanyichukwu Olisa, and Odoh Chukwuma—were also arrested in Nkwelle and Amichi with varying quantities of opioids and cannabis.
At the Abuja-Kaduna tollgate, NDLEA operatives intercepted 104,900 capsules of tramadol hidden in the driver’s compartment of a fuel tanker suspected to be headed for insurgents in Borno State. The driver, Hassan Buba, was taken into custody, while another suspect, Kabir Sulaiman, was caught with 34.1kg of skunk at Zaria.
In Maiduguri, a major supplier of opioids in Borno, Uchenna Umeh, 33, was arrested with 30,640 pills of tramadol, 7,940 tablets of Rohypnol, and ₦7.9 million cash in new ₦200 notes.
Other significant seizures include:
- 79,040 pills of tramadol and diazepam from Abubakar Dauda in Nasarawa.
- 30,410 tramadol pills, Rohypnol, and codeine syrup from Babangida Tungura in Lafia.
- 15,000 tramadol capsules concealed in animal feed in Gombe, traced to Mohammed Ali in Adamawa.
- 250,000 tablets of exol-5 seized from a suspect in Zango, Kano State.
- 79 blocks of skunk weighing 58kg concealed in sacks of pepper in Yola, Adamawa.
- 64,250 pills of opioids in a commercial bus intercepted in Edo State.
- 117.5kg of cannabis seized in Ondo State, with two suspects arrested.
- 164kg of skunk recovered in Mushin, Lagos.
- 5.3kg of Loud and Colorado and 2.5g of methamphetamine seized from drug kingpin Ajayi Ayodeji Idowu in Ado-Ekiti.
The NDLEA noted that these arrests and seizures were complemented by its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) advocacy, which last week included sensitization visits to schools, churches, traditional rulers, workplaces, and communities across the country.
Chairman/Chief Executive of the agency, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), commended officers in Anambra, Taraba, Kaduna, Kano, Nasarawa, Adamawa, Gombe, Lagos, Ekiti, Ondo, and Edo States for their “relentless commitment” to drug control. He also praised all state commands for intensifying sensitization campaigns nationwide.
