The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested an 80-year-old suspected drug courier in Rivers State as part of a nationwide crackdown that also led to the interception of 1.63 million tramadol pills concealed in two trailers heading for Kano State.
The agency said the tramadol consignments were intercepted in Lagos during intelligence-led operations targeting a transnational drug trafficking syndicate operating along the Togo-Benin Republic-Nigeria corridor.
According to the NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, the octogenarian suspect, identified as Chika Ugwoji, was arrested in Ahoada, Rivers State, where operatives recovered 800 grams of skunk, a strain of cannabis, from him.
Babafemi said the arrest was among several coordinated operations carried out across Lagos, Edo, Kogi and Rivers states, which also led to the apprehension of a businesswoman allegedly linked to cannabis shipments from Canada, a Chadian woman, a couple and other suspected traffickers.
He disclosed that the two trailers carrying the opioid consignments were intercepted on different dates following sustained surveillance by NDLEA operatives, with a total of 1.63 million pills of tramadol recovered from the vehicles. The seizures, he said, are part of ongoing efforts to dismantle drug trafficking networks operating across Nigeria’s borders.
The NDLEA spokesman reiterated the agency’s commitment to disrupting drug supply chains and bringing traffickers to justice, stressing that intelligence-driven operations would continue nationwide.
The latest arrests underscore the agency’s intensified campaign against illicit drug trafficking and abuse, with authorities maintaining that no individual, regardless of age or status, would be exempt from prosecution if found to be involved in the drug trade.
