Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency have arrested a 101-year-old great-grandmother, Esther Ogunmabo, for allegedly dealing in illicit drugs in Ilisan, Ogun State.

Ogunmabo was arrested on Saturday, August 15, 2026, with 90 grammes of skunk, a strain of cannabis, packaged in retail sachets which she allegedly sold to residents in the community.

According to a statement issued on Sunday by the NDLEA spokesman, Femi Babafemi, the centenarian told investigators that she turned to the illicit drug trade after her provisions shop was destroyed by fire.

Babafemi said the suspect also disclosed that one of her daughters, who lives in Lagos, supplied the cannabis to her every four days, which she then sold in small quantities.

The NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (retd.), subsequently directed that Ogunmabo be granted bail and placed on counselling because of her advanced age.

Her daughter was, however, arrested in connection with the alleged drug trade.

The arrest was among several drug-related operations carried out by the agency across the country, including major seizures at Nigeria’s maritime borders.

In Akwa Ibom State, NDLEA operatives intercepted a wooden boat on the high seas on Friday, August 21, allegedly conveying illicit drugs to fishing settlements in Cameroon.

Three suspects were arrested aboard the boat with a combined 42.622kg of narcotics.

They were identified as Etima Effiong Eekpo, 29; Otobong Eyoh Etukudoh, 33; and Kingsley Effiong John, 27.

Eekpo was found with 1.120kg of skunk, while Etukudoh had 42.060kg of the substance. John was arrested with 20 grammes of cocaine allegedly concealed inside a large wrap of cassava fufu, alongside 435 grammes of skunk.

The agency also announced what it described as its first seizure of illicit drugs shipped from Thailand through Nigeria’s maritime corridor.

Two containers intercepted at the Apapa and Lekki ports were found to contain cannabis indica, popularly known as Loud, with a combined street value of more than N4.4bn.

At Apapa Port, a container declared to contain dry fish, rice, vehicle spare parts, turmeric soap and inverter batteries was found to contain 1,090.5kg of Thai Loud packed in 54 cartons containing 2,181 sachets.

At the Lekki Deep Sea Port, another container under surveillance by the NDLEA was found to contain 400kg of Thai Loud concealed among pallets of A4 paper.

The agency also reported the interception of 24,410 tramadol capsules in three waybill packages inside a Hummer bus travelling from Enugu to Zuba.

The alleged owner of the consignment, 28-year-old Sunday Eze, was later arrested in Kontagora, Niger State.

In Ondo State, NDLEA operatives destroyed about 10,000kg of skunk cultivated across four hectares of cannabis farms in Ijare forest, Ifedore Local Government Area.

Another operation in Ita-Ogbolu, Akure North LGA, led to the recovery of 210kg of skunk and a Toyota Camry allegedly belonging to a suspect who remains at large.

Other operations resulted in the seizure of 73.3kg of skunk in Kano, 48kg in the Seme area of Lagos, and various quantities of Loud, Colorado, tramadol and rohypnol in Abia State.

Marwa commended officers of the affected commands for the operations and urged NDLEA personnel nationwide to sustain what he described as a balanced approach to the agency’s drug-control efforts.