‘101-year-old’ great-grandmother arrested for selling cannabis in Ogun

 Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency
(NDLEA) have arrested Esther Ogunmabo, said to be 101 years old, for “dealing
in illicit drugs”.

 

In a statement on Sunday, Femi Babafemi, director, media and
advocacy for NDLEA, said the centenarian was arrested on Saturday in the Ilisan
area of Ogun “with retail sachets of skunk, a strain of cannabis weighing 90
grams, which she claims she sells to locals”.

Babafemi said the woman said she resorted to the illicit
drug trade after her provisions shop was razed by fire.

According to the statement, one of the woman’s daughters,
who resides in Lagos, arranges the supply of the substance to her every four
days, which she in turn sells in bits.

Mohamed Marwa, chief executive officer of NDLEA, however,
directed that the suspect be granted bail and placed on counselling because of
her age, while her daughter has been arrested.

In a related development, NDLEA operatives in Akwa Ibom
intercepted a wooden boat on the high seas on Friday, which was said to be
conveying illicit drugs to fishing settlements in Cameroon.

Three suspects were arrested on board the boat, which was
heading to Ine Isu, Ine Mbah and Ine Ikot Itie Udung fishing ports in Cameroon.

“They include Etima Effiong Eekpo, 29, who was caught with
1.120kg of skunk; Otobong Eyoh Etukudoh, 33, who had 42.060kg of skunk; and
Kingsley Effiong John, 27, who was found with 20 grammes of cocaine cleverly
concealed inside a large wrap of edible cassava fufu, alongside 435 grammes of
skunk,” the statement reads.

A total of 42.622kg of narcotics was recovered from the
trio.

Babafemi added that the agency also on Friday recorded its
first-ever seizure of illicit drugs shipped from Thailand through the maritime
corridor, following the interception of two containers of cannabis indica, also
known as Loud, at the Apapa and Lekki ports.

According to him, the consignments, which had a combined
street value of over N4.4 billion, were loaded at the Port of Laem Chabang,
Thailand.

The containers allegedly contained 1,090.5kg of Thai Loud,
packed in 54 cartons comprising 2,181 sachets of 500 grammes each.

Marwa commended the officers and men of Ogun, Apapa, Lekki,
Seme, Akwa Ibom, Ondo, Oyo, Kwara, Kano, Abia and FCT Commands for the various
successful operations.

He enjoined them and their colleagues across the country to
“continue with the current balanced approach” to the drug control efforts of
the agency.

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