Nigeria’s National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) said it arrested a 101-year-old woman for illegally selling cannabis in small packets. The woman, identified as Esther Ogunmabo, was detained on August 15 in Ilisan, Ogun State. Authorities found “retail packets of skunk, a strain of cannabis, with a total weight of 90 grams” in her possession, which she allegedly sold to neighbors and local residents, the agency stated.
The 101-year-old told law enforcement she turned to “illegal drug trafficking” after a fire destroyed her general‑goods store, the NDLEA added. One of her daughters, who lives in Lagos, near Ogun State, “every four days” arranged deliveries of the substance, which the suspect then sold in small batches, according to the agency’s statement quoted by local media.
Bail release and anti‑drug operations
NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Mohamed Buba Marwa ordered the elderly suspect’s release on bail and for her to receive psychological counseling “due to her advanced age.” Her daughter was also arrested. The detention of Esther Ogunmabo is part of several operations announced by the anti‑drug agency at Nigeria’s land and maritime borders.
In Akwa Ibom State in the south‑south of the country, the NDLEA on August 21 intercepted a wooden boat at sea carrying “illicit drugs” to fishing settlements in Cameroon. Authorities arrested three suspects on board and seized 42.62 kilograms of drugs, including skunk and 20 grams of cocaine, “cleverly concealed in a large wrapper of edible cassava fufu,” the NDLEA reported.
The agency also announced its “first seizure” of illegal drugs shipped from Thailand after intercepting two containers of marijuana at the Apapa and Lekki ports in Lagos. According to the NDLEA, the seizure “highlights the emergence of a new smuggling route used by drug cartels to import synthetic cannabis into the country.”
Source: Clarín
