– N4.4bn worth of Loud seized at Apapa, Lekki ports; recovers consignments of meth, skunk, opioids in sweeps across Seme, Akwa Ibom, Ondo, Oyo, Kwara, Kano, Abia and FCT
Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have recorded significant breakthroughs across the country’s land and maritime borders, including the arrest of a 101-year-old great grandmother for dealing in illicit drug, the interception of cocaine concealed in edible cassava flour popularly known as fufu, and the seizure of large consignments of Loud, a synthetic cannabis valued at over N4.4 billion at the Apapa and Lekki ports in Lagos.
In a rare and startling development, NDLEA operatives on Saturday, 15th August 2026, arrested a 101-year-old woman, Esther Ogunmabo, in Ilisan, Ogun state, with retail sachets of skunk, a strain of cannabis weighing 90 grams, which she claims she sells to locals.
The centenarian told operatives that she resorted to the illicit drug trade after her provisions shop was razed by fire, adding that one of her daughters, who resides in Lagos, arranges the supply of the substance to her every four days, which she in turn sold in bits.
The Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig Gen Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd) has however directed that the suspect be granted bail and placed on counselling because of her advanced age, while her daughter has been arrested.
In a related development, NDLEA operatives in Akwa Ibom state acting on credible intelligence, on Friday, 21st August intercepted a wooden boat on the high seas conveying illicit drugs to fishing settlements in the Republic of Cameroon. Three suspects who were arrested on board the boat, which was heading to Ine Isu, Ine Mbah and Ine Ikot Itie Udung fishing ports in Cameroon, include: Etima Effiong Eekpo, 29, caught with 1.120kg skunk; Otobong Eyoh Etukudoh, 33, who had 42.060kg of skunk in his possession; and 27-year-old Kingsley Effiong John, who was found with 20grams of cocaine cleverly concealed inside a large wrap of edible cassava fufu, alongside 435grams of skunk. A total of 42.622kg of narcotics was recovered from the trio.
In the nation’s maritime space, the Agency recorded its first-ever seizure of illicit drugs shipped from Thailand through the maritime corridor, following the interception of two containers of cannabis indica, also known as Loud, at the Apapa and Lekki ports, with a combined street value put at over N4.4 billion.
Both containers were loaded at the Port of Laem Chabang, Thailand, underscoring the emergence of a new trafficking route being exploited by drug syndicates to smuggle synthetic cannabis into the country.
At the Apapa Port, a container, declared to be conveying dry fish, rice, vehicle spare parts, turmeric soap and inverter batteries, was found, during a joint examination of the shipment on Friday 21st August by NDLEA, Customs and others, to contain 1,090.5kg of Thai Loud packed in 54 cartons comprising 2,181 sachets of 500 grams each.
At the Lekki Deep Sea Port, a similar container, which had been placed on the Agency’s watchlist and monitored by its Marine Special Operations Unit, was jointly examined on Wednesday, 19th August. Of the seven pallets found in the container wrapped in black nylon, four were confirmed to be laced with Thai Loud, yielding 96 cartons made up of 400 parcels weighing a total of 400kg. The remaining three pallets contained 798 rims of A4 paper, which had been used as cover for the consignment.
In the Federal Capital Territory Abuja, NDLEA operatives on Saturday 22nd August intercepted three waybill packages containing 24,410 pills of tramadol capsules inside a hummer bus travelling from Enugu to Zuba. A follow-up operation conducted in Niger State led to the arrest of the owner of the consignment, Sunday Eze, 28, in Kontagora, after which he was transferred to Abuja.
Operatives in Ondo State on Wednesday 19th August raided a cannabis farm at Ijare forest, Ifedore Local Government Area, following the earlier arrest of three suspected cannabis planters at the same location on 16th August. The team destroyed a total of 10,000kg of skunk cultivated across four hectares of the forest. In a separate operation in the state, operatives same day at Ita-Ogbolu, Akure North LGA, recovered 210kg skunk and a Toyota Camry car with registration number AGL 223 JH belonging to Sylvester Dibiagu Anthony, who is currently at large.
In Kwara state, NDLEA operatives on patrol along the Ogbomosho-Ilorin expressway, Ilorin on Friday 21st August intercepted a Toyota Starlet car without a registration number. A search of the vehicle led to the recovery of 1.325kg of methamphetamine, wrapped in black nylon bags, alongside quantities of cannabis sativa. One suspect, Muhammadu Usman, 22, was arrested in connection with the seizure.
A 65-year-old woman, Adebayo Kaosarat, was arrested at Akobo-Ojuirin area of Ibadan, Oyo state on Friday 21st August with a cocktail of substances comprising 1.795kg of Scottish Loud, 1.66kg of tramadol, 600g of codeine syrup, 125g of diazepam and 50g of flunitrazepam, totalling 4.68kg.
A raid at Hadeija road, Kano, on Monday 17th August led to the arrest of Chibuzor Madueke, 31, with 98 blocks of skunk weighing 73.3kg recovered from him, while a similar operation by NDLEA operatives at Seme, Badagry area of Lagos led to the arrest of three family members: Nasiru Tijjani, 52; Moshood Tijjani, 27; and Salami Tijjani, 27, at Ashipa area, near the Seme border, with 48kg of skunk.
In Abia state, NDLEA officers on Thursday 20th August raided the residence of Ikechukwu Anthony Iwuno, 36, at Umuobia Olokoro area of Umuahia South LGA, where 14.4kg Loud, 2.3kg Colorado, 386grams of tramadol and 134grams of rohypnol were recovered.
With the same vigour, Commands and formations of the Agency across the country continued their War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitization activities to schools, worship centres, work places and communities among others in the past week. These include: WADA enlightenment lecture to students and staff of Umar Bn Khattab College for Islamic Studies, Ungogo LGA, Kano; Markaz Al-Furqan Centre of Islamic and Arabic Teaching, Kishi, Oyo state; School of Nursing and Midwifery, Birnin Kebbi, Kebbi state; Mu’assasah Tahfizui Qur’an Islamiya School, Ibi, Taraba; and members of the Scout Association of Nigeria at the first National Youth Camp held in Benin City, Edo state, while the Idiroko Special Area Command of NDLEA paid a WADA advocacy visit to the Chairman of Ipokia LGA, Ogun state Hon. Johnson Avoseh, among others.
While commending the officers and men of Ogun, Apapa, Lekki, Seme, Akwa Ibom, Ondo, Oyo, Kwara, Kano, Abia and FCT Commands for the various successful operations, Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Marwa (rtd) enjoined them and their colleagues across the country to continue with the current balanced approach to the drug control efforts of the Agency.
A 51-year-old man has been arrested in connection with the d£ath of Tasia Fortune, a 29-year-old mother of four whose body was found h@ng!ng from a tree behind an abandoned home in Jackson, Mississippi.
Jackson police identified the suspect as Jacques Ratliff, who was arrested on Friday after officers executed search and arrest warrants in connection with the case.
The arrest came a day after the Mississippi State Medical Examiner officially classified Fortune’s d£ath as a h0m!cide.
Police Chief RaShall Brackney said Ratliff had an “association” with Fortune but declined to disclose the nature of their relationship. She also said the investigation remains active and that additional arrests are expected.
Fortune’s mother, Christy Spivey, said she broke down in tears after learning of the arrest, but noted that the family still has unanswered questions about the motive and evidence that led investigators to Ratliff.
Spivey last saw her daughter on July 26 during a family reunion in Kentucky, shortly before Fortune returned to Mississippi.
Fortune’s case has drawn national attention, partly because two other h@ng!ng d£aths occurred in Mississippi within the past year. Authorities ruled both those cases suicides.
Fortune, who had lived in Jackson for about 10 years after moving from Kentucky, was remembered by relatives as a religious, intelligent and athletic woman.
The Ekiti State Commissioner of Police, Michael Falade, has ordered a thorough investigation into the alleged killing of a 25-year-old woman, Kehinde Onizeokaraga, by her husband, Sodiq Ibrahim, during a marital dispute in Ado Ekiti, the state capital.
Ibrahim, a meat seller, allegedly attacked his wife with a machete during an attempt to resolve their marital disagreement on Wednesday.
Sources who spoke about the incident on Thursday said the couple, who hailed from Kogi State, had been experiencing domestic challenges before the disagreement reportedly culminated in the fatal attack.
One of the sources said the deceased had previously left her husband’s home following what was described as irreconcilable differences between the couple.
The source said, “I am aware they had issues in the marriage to the extent that the lady had left the man’s house due to some irreconcilable differences.
“But recently, there were efforts by the suspect to resolve the issue with her, which the deceased was not comfortable with.”
The disagreement reportedly escalated into a physical confrontation during which Ibrahim allegedly attacked Kehinde repeatedly with a machete, inflicting severe injuries that led to her death.
The suspect reportedly fled the scene after the incident and remained at large as of Thursday.
The deceased’s body was said to have been deposited in a mortuary.
A cousin to the deceased, Yussuf Lawrence, said the family was devastated by the incident and appealed to the police and other relevant authorities to intensify efforts to apprehend the suspect.
Lawrence said the killing occurred during an attempt by some individuals to mediate in the couple’s marital dispute.
He said, “While Kehinde was preparing to leave Ado Ekiti, she was invited to the residence of her father’s friend, who they said wanted to see her. Kehinde went to the residence on Wednesday morning, unaware that her husband would also be present.
“An attempt to resolve the couple’s marital disagreement subsequently degenerated into the fatal attack.”
Lawrence alleged that some persons had been taken into police custody in connection with the incident, although Ibrahim was still at large.
He also alleged that Ibrahim fled with Kehinde’s mobile phone, which he said the family believed could contain information that might assist the police in their investigation.
“We want Sadiq (Ibrahim) to be found and arrested. We want justice for Kehinde. Her parents are in pain, and my family is in serious agony. She didn’t deserve this,” he said.
Confirming the incident, the Police Public Relations Officer, Ekiti State Command, Sunday Abutu, said the Commissioner of Police had ordered a thorough investigation.
“The Commissioner of Police, Michael Falade, has ordered a thorough investigation into the matter to ensure that the perpetrator is apprehended and brought to justice,” Abutu said.
The Nigeria Customs Service, Apapa Area Command, said it had seized 13 containers of hard drugs and expired goods with a total duty-paid value of N43.58bn.
Addressing journalists at the command while showcasing the seized containers, the Comptroller-General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, explained that the contents fell into three categories: “narcotics and controlled pharmaceuticals, security-sensitive equipment, and expired goods intended for human use.”
“The total duty-paid value of the seizures is N43.58bn,” Adeniyi said.
Giving details of the seizure, he said a 40-foot container with registration number HAMU 3086682 was carrying 4,777 parcels of cannabis sativa weighing 2,388.5kg, packed in two cartons, 48 jumbo bags and 40 drums, alongside assorted automobile spare parts, one carton of coffee mix, eight cartons of oats and three vehicles.
He added that another 40ft container with registration number FANU 1933352 was carrying 8,287 parcels of cannabis sativa weighing 4,145kg, packed in 162 bags and three vehicles.
The CGC pointed out that a 20ft container with registration number MSKU 3941778 was intercepted with 2,181 parcels of cannabis sativa weighing 1,090.5kg, packed in five cartons, 148 bags of foreign parboiled rice, assorted automobile spare parts, two boxes of lithium batteries, one carton of PV combiner box, 19 cartons of turmeric, 33 cartons of mangala fish and 11 cartons of butterfly fish.
“Others include a 40ft container with registration number TCKU 7653306 carrying 1,700 cartons containing 169,998 bottles of codeine syrup, concealed under household items.
“Another container with registration number MSKU 9282528 was carrying two cartons containing 108 units of high-definition dual-camera drones, extracted from the container. A 40ft container with registration number MRKU 6185100 conveying 425 bales of used clothing. A 40ft container with registration number SEKU 4685299 was carrying 422 bales of used clothing,” he said.
Adeniyi said the command also intercepted five containers loaded with expired tomato ketchup, antiseptic liquid, vaginal tablets and disposable nappies.
He emphasised that the three narcotics containers together were carrying 15,245 parcels of cannabis sativa weighing 7,624kg, while the used clothing amounted to 1,282 bales.
Adeniyi warned that the abuse of prohibited substances like codeine among young Nigerians had been a national concern for years, adding that its connection to violent conduct, family breakdown and the loss of productive lives was well documented.
According to him, a single container of this size would have supplied the trade for a considerable period. He said the cannabis interceptions resulted from inter-agency work with the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, supported by intelligence from international security partners.
Adeniyi added that the service also extracted 108 units of high-definition dual-camera drones from an intercepted container.
“Drones have lawful uses, and the service has no quarrel with them. But equipment of this kind, in the wrong hands, becomes a means of surveillance, of reconnaissance and of delivery, and our security agencies have already met it in that role in the field,” he stressed.
He maintained that consignments of security-sensitive equipment arriving without necessary documents would be detained. “Our ports will not be a route through which capability reaches those who are working against the security of this country,” Adeniyi warned.
He disclosed that the seized items would be handed over to the relevant narcotics agencies for further action and closure.
