August 31, (THEWILL) — Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a 75-year-old man, Uchelue Ikechukwu, alongside five other suspects during raids against illicit substances in Anambra State.
The agency, in a statement signed on Sunday by its spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, said Ikechukwu was arrested at Umudioka, Dunukofia Local Government Area of Anambra with 26.7kg of skunk on Thursday, August 28, 2025.
Other suspects, identified as Eneh Makuo, Emmanuel Chiemeli, Uwakwe Matthew, Chukwujekwu Ehirim, Ifeanyichukwu Olisa, and Odoh Chukwuma, were also apprehended with varying quantities of opioids and skunk in Nkwelle and Amichi areas of the state.
The statement further disclosed that 30-year-old Alfa Andrew was taken into custody following the destruction of 178,750 kilograms of skunk on his 71.5-hectare cannabis farm in Mayodoga Forest, Sardauna Local Government Area of Taraba State.
Andrew, who was found with a Dane gun, was arrested on Tuesday, August 26, during a joint operation involving the Nigerian Army, Nigeria Forest Security Service, Mambila Youth Vanguard, and Vigilante groups.
The agency also reported other major interceptions across the country. These include the seizure of 104,900 capsules of tramadol concealed in the driver’s compartment of a fuel tanker at the Abuja/Kaduna tollgate, suspected to be heading to insurgents in Borno State.
The driver, Hassan Buba, was arrested in the operation conducted on Friday, August 29. Another suspect, Kabir Sulaiman, 45, was nabbed with 34.15kg of skunk at Gwargwaje-Zaria checkpoint the following day.
In Maiduguri, Borno State, NDLEA operatives arrested 33-year-old Uchenna Umeh, identified as a major supplier of illicit opioids. He was found with 30,640 pills of tramadol 225mg, 7,940 tablets of rohypnol, and N7.99m in cash during a raid on his apartment.
Similar arrests were made in Nasarawa, Adamawa, Kano, Edo, Ondo, Ekiti, and Lagos States, with significant quantities of tramadol, rohypnol, exol-5, codeine, cannabis, and other illicit substances seized during various operations between August 25 and August 30.
In one of the most significant operations in Ekiti, NDLEA operatives stormed Nova Street, Ado-Ekiti, on Friday, August 29, where they recovered 5.3kg of Loud and Colorado, two potent strains of cannabis, as well as 2.5g of methamphetamine from a 42-year-old drug kingpin, Ajayi Ayodeji Idowu, also known as “Atiku.”
Meanwhile, NDLEA Commands across the country continued their War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitization campaigns with lectures and advocacy visits to schools, worship centres, workplaces, palaces, and communities.
Among the notable visits were sensitization programmes in Onitsha, Abakaliki, Badagry, Lagos, and Abeokuta.
Commending the officers for their efforts, NDLEA Chairman/Chief Executive, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), applauded the Anambra, Taraba, Kaduna, Kano, Nasarawa, Adamawa, Gombe, Lagos, Ekiti, Ondo, and Edo Commands for their successes in the past week.
He also urged all NDLEA personnel nationwide to intensify their advocacy and sensitization efforts to further strengthen the fight against illicit drugs.
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