Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested an 80-year-old ex-convict for dealing in illicit drugs, a crime for which he had previously spent two years in prison.
According to the anti-narcotics agency’s spokesman, Femi Babafemi, the ex-convict, Jeremiah Isaiah Nkanta, was first arrested by NDLEA on 14th December 2022, prosecuted and sentenced to two years in jail by a Federal High Court in Uyo, Akwa Ibom state.
Nkanta returned to the illicit drug trade and, following credible intelligence, NDLEA operatives on Saturday 10th January 2025 tracked the Octogenarian ex-convict to his Mmanta – Abak village, Abak local government area of Akwa Ibom state, where he was arrested with 5.7 kilograms of skunk, a strain of cannabis in his residence.
Aother successful operation in Akwa Ibom state, involving NDLEA operatives on patrol along Oron-Ibaka road in Oron LGA on Friday 9th January, led to the interception of a 37-year-old businessman, Ani Onyebuchi Romans while travelling with full body mannequins for his clothing business in Cameroun. A search of the mannequins revealed that they were stuffed with pills of tramadol weighing 5.3 kilograms.
The suspect claimed he resides in Cameroun and was reportedly returning to his base after the Christmas and New Year holidays when he was apprehended. It was revealed that he bought the drugs in Onitsha, Anambra state and was trafficking them to Cameroun to sell, using two mannequins to conceal the opioids.
Furthermore, raids across different locations in Oyo state led to the seizure of dangerous illicit drugs and the arrest of notorious drug dealers: 45-year-old Remi Bamidele (Alias ‘Aluko the Mafia’) at Sasa, Ibadan, 27-year-old Adeola Toheeb and Haben Ali. From Bamidele, operatives recovered a total of 10.696 kilograms of Colorado, Scottish Loud, Ghana Loud, Canadian Loud and skunk, all strains of cannabis as well as two vehicles, a Toyota Venza and a Toyota Yaris, while various quantities of Colorado, Ghana Loud and skunk were recovered from Toheeb. Habeeb Ali was nabbed at Ring road, Ibadan with 1.264kg Colorado, Scottish Loud and skunk with a sum of One Million Three Hundred and Seven Thousand One Hundred Naira (₦1,307,100) cash exhibit at the point of his arrest on Saturday 10th January.
Arrests were also made in Edo, Niger and Adamawa states where large quantities of illicit drugs ranging from skunk, Canadian Loud and tramadol capsules among others were seized.
