The recent arrest by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency of a 63-year-old Chinese grandmother at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport with 31 kilograms of synthetic cannabis is another troubling reminder that the face of drug trafficking is changing. For years, the image of drug couriers was associated largely with unemployed youths, desperate migrants, or organised criminal gangs. Today, however, grandmothers and grandfathers who should ordinarily be symbols of wisdom, dignity, and moral guidance are increasingly being linked to illicit drug operations.
This development should deeply worry Nigerians, not only because of the criminal implications but also because it strikes at the heart of the nation’s family and moral structure.
In the latest case, the suspect reportedly claimed that her daughter sponsored her trip and handed her the illicit consignment in Thailand for delivery in Nigeria. Whether this account is fully true or partly an attempt to evade responsibility, it points to an uncomfortable reality that some elderly persons are increasingly being used as shields, fronts, or unsuspecting couriers by younger relatives and criminal syndicates. Others, no doubt, knowingly participate because of economic hardship, greed, or social pressure. Yet, poverty alone cannot excuse criminality.
