NDLEA rearrests 83-year-old grandmother with meth, synthetic cannabis
Abdullateef Fowewe
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has rearrested an 83-year-old woman in Abia State for drug offences less than a year after her previous conviction, while intercepting large consignments of cannabis, synthetic cannabinoids and opioid tablets across several states and airports.
According to a statement on Sunday by NDLEA Director of Media and Advocacy Femi Babafemi, operatives arrested Uloma Uchechi Sunday on Wednesday, 7 October 2026, at her home in Ite-Uzo, Umuaguma, Obingwa Local Government Area.
Officers found quantities of methamphetamine and Colorado (a synthetic cannabinoid) tied around her waist with a wrapper.
“At 83, most grandmothers are asking for rest. Not Mrs. Uloma Uchechi Sunday, who was arrested again by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) with consignments of Methamphetamine and Colorado concealed around her waist, barely a year after she was nabbed, prosecuted and convicted for the same offence,” Babafemi said.
The agency said her re-arrest followed intelligence that she was running a drug joint that harboured criminal elements terrorising the community.
In May 2025, she and her 32-year-old daughter, Chisom Uchechi, were arrested at the same residence with 50 grams of methamphetamine, 522 grams of skunk, 260 grams of fresh cannabis leaves and 12 grams of tramadol.
Both pleaded guilty, received a 12-month sentence or the option of a ₦200,000 fine each, paid the fine and were released.
“Undeterred, the notorious old woman promptly returned to the criminal trade and escalated the scale by setting up a drug joint where she harbours dangerous characters,” the statement added.
In a separate operation at Port Harcourt International Airport in Rivers State, NDLEA officers working with the Nigeria Customs Service arrested South African national Gebashe Sithandiwe Jessie with 30 parcels of Thai Loud cannabis weighing 32.74 kilograms hidden in two travelling bags.
She had arrived from Thailand via Doha on a Qatar Airways flight and reportedly admitted to previous trafficking through other African countries while expanding her route to Port Harcourt.
At Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos, officers intercepted 354,000 tablets of Tapentadol 250mg (weighing 307.20kg) in a consignment from Pakistan and 75.90kg of Colorado in six bags from the United Kingdom.
Several suspects, including a clearing agent, an Uber driver and a clothing trader, were arrested in connection with the UK shipment.
Further raids yielded major domestic hauls: 1,100kg of cannabis sativa plus seeds in Cross River State, and 702.83kg of compressed cannabis in a vehicle in Edo State, among other seizures.
The agency also reported recovering assorted rifles and ammunition during operations in Plateau State.
