NDLEA Rearrests 83-Year-Old Grandmother With Drugs in Abia

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has rearrested an 83-year-old woman, Uloma Uchechi Sunday, over alleged drug-related activities in Abia State, barely a year after she and her daughter were convicted of drug offences.

The agency said the woman was arrested on Wednesday, October 7, at her residence in Ite-Uzo, Umuaguma, Obingwa Local Government Area, following intelligence reports that she allegedly operated a drug joint in the community.

According to a statement by NDLEA spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, operatives recovered consignments of methamphetamine and Colorado, a synthetic cannabinoid, allegedly concealed around her waist with a wrapper.

Babafemi said the woman was first arrested on May 17, 2025, alongside her 32-year-old daughter, Chisom Uchechi, at the same residence.

During that operation, officers recovered 50 grammes of methamphetamine, 522 grammes of skunk, 260 grammes of fresh cannabis leaves and 12 grammes of tramadol, the agency said.

The NDLEA stated that both women pleaded guilty and were sentenced to 12 months’ imprisonment or a fine of ₦200,000 each. They paid the fines and were released.

The agency alleged that Uloma returned to the illicit drug trade after her release and established a drug joint where criminal elements allegedly gathered.

The NDLEA did not state whether she had been formally charged following her latest arrest.

The arrest was part of a series of intelligence-led operations across several states that resulted in the seizure of illicit drugs and the arrest of multiple suspects.

In a separate operation, NDLEA operatives arrested a South African woman, Gebashe Sithandiwe Jessie, at the Port Harcourt International Airport in Rivers State, with 30 parcels of cannabis known as Thai Loud, weighing 32.74 kilogrammes.

The agency also reported intercepting 354,000 tablets of Tapentadol in a shipment from Pakistan at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos.

NDLEA Chairman, Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), commended officers involved in the operations and urged them to sustain intelligence-led efforts against drug trafficking.