NDLEA Arrests 75-Year-Old Grandpa, Destroys Cannabis Farm in Taraba, Seizes Millions of Pills Nationwide
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has announced a string of nationwide raids that led to the arrest of several suspects, including a 75-year-old grandfather and a drug kingpin, the destruction of over 178,000 kilograms of cannabis, and the interception of hundreds of thousands of opioid pills in different states.
In one of the most dramatic operations, NDLEA operatives, supported by soldiers, forest security personnel, and vigilante groups, stormed Mayodoga forest in Sardauna Local Government Area of Taraba State on August 26, 2025, where a 71.5-hectare cannabis farm was discovered. A 30-year-old suspect, Alfa Andrew, was arrested at the scene with a Dane gun, while the massive farm was destroyed, yielding 178,750 kilograms of skunk, a potent strain of cannabis.
In a separate raid in Anambra State, operatives arrested a 75-year-old man, Uchelue Ikechukwu, with 26.7kg of skunk at Umudioka, Dunukofia Local Government Area on August 28. Five others were also arrested in Nkwelle and Amichi areas of the state with varying quantities of opioids and cannabis.
Across the north, NDLEA operatives also intercepted a series of illicit consignments. At the Abuja/Kaduna tollgate on August 29, 104,900 tramadol capsules were found hidden in the driver’s compartment of a fuel tanker suspected to be destined for insurgents in Borno State. A suspect, Hassan Buba, was arrested in connection with the seizure. Similarly, a follow-up search in Zaria led to the arrest of 45-year-old Kabir Sulaiman with over 34kg of skunk.
In Maiduguri, a 33-year-old identified as Uchenna Umeh was arrested on August 30 as a major supplier of opioids in Borno State. A raid on his apartment in Chescon, Pompomary, uncovered 30,640 pills of tramadol, 7,940 tablets of rohypnol, and ₦7.99 million in cash, stacked in newly printed ₦200 notes.
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Further seizures were made across Nasarawa, Gombe, Adamawa, Kano, Edo, Ondo, Ekiti, and Lagos States. In Mararaba Karu, Nasarawa, 36-year-old Abubakar Dauda was caught with 79,040 pills of tramadol and diazepam, while in Lafia, another suspect was arrested with over 30,000 pills of opioids and codeine syrup hidden in a freezer. In Gombe and Adamawa, tramadol consignments were discovered disguised as animal feed and pepper sacks, while in Kano, multiple suspects were arrested with more than 250,000 tablets of exol-5 and other psychoactive substances.
The raids also extended to the southwest, where NDLEA intercepted 64,250 pills of tramadol along the Ewu-Auchi road in Edo, arrested suspects in Ondo with over 117kg of cannabis, and seized 164kg of cannabis from a base in Mushin, Lagos. In Ekiti, the agency made what it described as the single largest seizure of Loud and Colorado in the state, recovering 5.3kg of the potent cannabis strains and methamphetamine from a drug kingpin, 42-year-old Ajayi Ayodeji Idowu, popularly known as Atiku.
Meanwhile, NDLEA said its Commands across the country continued with advocacy campaigns under its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) programme, with sensitization visits to schools, worship centres, workplaces, and traditional palaces. These included engagements with students in Anambra, youths in Ebonyi, the Akran of Badagry in Lagos, the MD of the Nigerian Ports Authority, the First Lady of Ogun State, and the Olofin of Isheri in Lagos.
Chairman/Chief Executive of NDLEA, Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), commended officers for what he described as a “remarkable week of seizures and arrests.” He applauded their resilience and collaboration with local communities, adding that the combination of enforcement and advocacy remains key to the agency’s strategy.
“These results show that our officers are not only intensifying their operations against drug cartels but also pushing the WADA message to every community, school, and workplace,” Marwa said, vowing that NDLEA will sustain its momentum against drug traffickers and abusers nationwide.
By PRNigeria
