NDLEA Arrests 85-Year-Old Woman With 179kg of Cannabis in Edo

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has arrested an 85-year-old woman, Grace Ehimeka, with 179 kilogrammes of cannabis in Edo State, as part of a series of operations that led to the arrest of five other suspects and the seizure of additional controlled substances.

The NDLEA said its operatives recovered 15 bags of cannabis from Ehimeka, also known as Mama Grace, when they arrested her at her residence in Warake community on October 16.

The Edo State Commander of the agency, Mitchell Ofoyeju, disclosed the arrest in a statement made available to journalists in Benin City, according to reports published on Monday.

The agency said the operations covered Warake, Ivhiaro and Ewe/Irue communities, with another suspect arrested in Auchi. The raids were conducted between October 15 and 16.

According to the NDLEA, the operations yielded a total of 407.39 kilogrammes of cannabis, alongside 546 grammes of a substance described as “loud”, 114 grammes of tramadol, four grammes of diazepam and three grammes of Swinol.

The other suspects were identified as Ali Garba, 57; Habib Braimoh, 45; Musa Mubid, 35; Ayo Aigberadion, 53; and Hope Okoro, 35.

The agency said Garba was arrested in Ivhiaro on October 15 with 5.852 kilogrammes of cannabis, while Braimoh was arrested in the same community with 100 grammes.

Mubid was allegedly found with two kilogrammes of cannabis, 309 grammes of cannabis seeds, 114 grammes of loud and 135 grammes of assorted pharmaceutical substances, including tramadol, Swinol and diazepam.

Aigberadion was arrested in Ewe/Irue, in Owan East Local Government Area, on October 16, with 220.8 kilogrammes of cannabis, according to the agency.

The NDLEA also reported recovering 237 grammes of loud from Okoro.

Ofoyeju said the command remained committed to tackling drug trafficking and warned that age would not exempt anyone from compliance with the law.

The agency urged members of the public to provide credible information that could assist its efforts to curb illicit drug activities.

The NDLEA has not, in the materials reviewed for this report, provided details of formal charges or court proceedings against the six suspects.