NDLEA Busts Drug Network as Two Elderly Men Allegedly Sell Drugs to School Students

NDLEA Busts Drug Network as Two Elderly Men Allegedly Sell Drugs to School Students

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested two elderly men aged 84 and 75 in Abia State over alleged involvement in selling illicit drugs to secondary school students in Umuahia.

The suspects, identified as Godfrey Orji (84) and Godwin Obulunbiya Obiora (75), were picked up in separate operations following intelligence-led raids. Authorities allege that the older man operating a patent medicine shop was supplying controlled substances, including opioids such as tramadol and diazepam, directly to young users.

According to NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi, officers recovered several kilograms of illicit drugs during the operations. In one case, a teenage student reportedly confessed that the elderly suspect regularly supplied him with drugs, which were also resold to other students.

In another incident, the second suspect was allegedly caught supplying drugs to students near a secondary school in Umuahia, raising fresh concerns about the spread of drug abuse among teenagers in the area.

Both suspects are expected to face prosecution, while the affected students have been placed on counselling and rehabilitation programmes.

Beyond Abia State, the NDLEA also reported a nationwide crackdown involving multiple seizures and arrests. In Lagos, operatives intercepted shipments of synthetic cannabinoids and cannabis products hidden in parcels and handbags. In another raid, officers recovered codeine syrup, skunk cannabis, and drug-related paraphernalia linked to a wanted dealer.

Similar operations were carried out in Kogi, Oyo, and Edo States, leading to the arrest of several suspects and the destruction of large cannabis plantations. Thousands of kilograms of skunk were reportedly seized or destroyed during the coordinated raids.

NDLEA Chairman, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), commended officers across the country for their sustained operations, urging them to intensify efforts under the agency’s ongoing “War Against Drug Abuse” campaign.

The agency says the crackdown is part of a wider effort to reduce drug supply chains and curb rising substance abuse, particularly among young people in Nigeria.