– Intercepts illicit consignment from China, seizes Dubai-bound Loud hidden in ladies’ handbags, nabs wanted couple and 75-year-old grandmother in nationwide operations
Michael Olugbode in Abuja
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has uncovered an alarming drug distribution network targeting secondary school students, arresting two elderly men aged 84 and 75 for allegedly supplying illicit substances to teenagers in Abia State, in what has raised fresh concerns over the growing penetration of narcotics into Nigerian schools.
The anti-narcotics agency also intercepted a shipment of synthetic drugs from China, seized cannabis concealed in ladies’ handbags destined for export, arrested a wanted couple linked to a major drug syndicate in Ekiti State and apprehended a 75-year-old grandmother alongside two others during a massive cannabis bust in Oyo State.
The arrests and seizures, announced by the NDLEA spokesman, Femi Babafemi on Sunday, underscore what security experts have described as the increasingly sophisticated and disturbing dimensions of the country’s illicit drug trade, with elderly persons and school children now emerging as both distributors and victims.
