NDLEA Arrests Two Grandfathers for Allegedly Selling Drugs to Students in Abia

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested two elderly men, aged 84 and 75, for allegedly supplying and selling illicit drugs to secondary school students and other users in Umuahia, Abia State.

The suspects, identified as 84-year-old Godfrey Orji and 75-year-old Godwin Obulunbiya Obiora, were arrested in separate operations conducted by operatives of the anti-narcotics agency.

According to a statement issued on Sunday by the NDLEA Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, Obiora was arrested on June 19 following credible intelligence linking him to the sale of illicit substances from his patent medicine store located along Club Road in Umuahia.

Babafemi disclosed that a search conducted on the premises led to the recovery of 4.64 kilograms of opioids, including tramadol and diazepam.

He stated that investigations revealed that the suspect allegedly sold the substances to students and other drug users in the area.

The agency also arrested Orji, a pensioner, after he was allegedly caught supplying illicit drugs to students of Saint Silas Secondary School in Old Umuahia.

According to the NDLEA, the suspect was initially apprehended by security guards at the school and later handed over to the police before being transferred to the agency for further investigation.

Babafemi said one of the students involved, a 15-year-old Senior Secondary School Two student, admitted during interrogation that Orji regularly supplied him with drugs.

The student further alleged that he consumed some of the substances and sold others to fellow students.

The NDLEA said the two elderly suspects would face prosecution in accordance with the law, while the affected students have been enrolled in counselling and rehabilitation programmes aimed at addressing substance abuse.

Meanwhile, the agency announced additional drug seizures and arrests across the country.

In Lagos, NDLEA operatives intercepted a 9.5-kilogram consignment of ADB-Chminaca, a synthetic cannabinoid classified as a dangerous psychoactive substance, concealed in a carton shipped from China through a courier company.

Another operation led to the seizure of 300 grams of Loud, a potent strain of cannabis, hidden inside ladies’ handbags at a logistics company.

The agency also raided the residence of a wanted drug dealer, Lukman Badmus, popularly known as Lukman Ogombo, in the Ogombo area of Ajah, Lagos, as part of ongoing efforts to dismantle drug trafficking networks nationwide.