Elderly men detained for alleged narcotics smuggling in Abia and Ekiti states

Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have apprehended an 83-year-old grandfather, Pa John Ofiel, and a 78-year-old grandpa, Ogunjobi Samuel, as part of a nationwide crackdown on illicit drug traffickers and dealers.

n

Spokesman Femi Babafemi confirmed the arrests, stating that Pa Ofiel was caught on Tuesday, 28th April 2026, during a raid at Samek by Powerline, Aba, Abia state, after receiving credible intelligence about his involvement in illicit substances.

n

At the time of his arrest, 700 grams of skunk, a strain of cannabis, packaged in retail sachets were found in his possession, and Pa Ofiel claimed to have been a professional shoemaker before entering the illicit drug trade.

n

In a similar incident, NDLEA operatives in Ekiti state arrested 78-year-old Ogunjobi Samuel on Thursday, 30th April, at his residence on H22 Owode Street, Ilupeju-Ekiti, and seized 350 grams of the same psychoactive substance from him.

n

Meanwhile, in Oyo state, two ladies, 24-year-old Rebecca King and 31-year-old Olaniyan Opeyemi, were arrested by NDLEA operatives in connection with the seizure of 1.925kg of Colorado, a synthetic cannabis.

n

Rebecca was caught conveying the consignment along the Lagos/Ibadan expressway on Wednesday, 29th April, while Opeyemi was arrested in a follow-up operation at Iwo road, Ibadan, when she attempted to take delivery of the cargo.

n

A notorious drug dealer, 49-year-old Taofik Adeyemi, was arrested on Saturday, 2nd May, along with his salesman, 28-year-old Mustapha Oyerinde, at his residence in the Erunmu area of the state capital, after months of evading arrest.

n

Two of Taofik's associates, Abiodun Abiola and Aderinde Ibrahim, had been arrested on 8th December 2025 and are currently being prosecuted at a Federal High Court in Ibadan, and at the time of Taofik's arrest, 3.085 kilograms of skunk and a Toyota Camry car marked EPE 299 JZ were recovered from him.

n

In Osun state, 65-year-old driver Oladayo Awoyemi was arrested on Thursday, 30th April, at the Ile-Ife toll gate along the Ibadan/Ilesha expressway, while conveying a cartoon containing 7kg of skunk and 15grams of methamphetamine in his vehicle with registration number LES 114 AG.

n

A follow-up operation in Ilesha town led to the arrest of the actual owner of the consignment, 40-year-old Ifedayo Babalola.

n

NDLEA operatives arrested 27-year-old suspect Yahaya Shehu on Wednesday, 29th April, while on patrol along the Damaturu-Maiduguri road in Borno state, following credible intelligence, resulting in the seizure of 76,440 pills of Tramadol 225mg.

n

In another operation in Borno, a truck driver, 30-year-old Magaji Isa, was arrested after the interception of 14,000 capsules of Tramadol, and a follow-up operation in Biu led to the arrest of the owner, 28-year-old Abdulhamid Mahmud.

n

NDLEA officers on patrol along the Abuja/Jos/Kaduna highway intercepted a Honda Ridgeline vehicle marked KSF 65 EQ on Saturday, 2nd May, and recovered 393 blocks of compressed blocks of skunk weighing 290 kilograms from two suspects, 36-year-old Ojo Major Ebose and 32-year-old Chika Obiechefula.

n

No fewer than 49,800 capsules of Tramadol were seized from two suspects, 50-year-old Ahmed Garba (a.k.a Fangale) and 41-year-old Sale Mohammed, along Bauchi road, Hadejia, Jigawa state on Friday, 1st May.