The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested an 80-year-old former convict, Jeremiah Isaiah Nkanta, for allegedly returning to the illicit drug trade barely three years after serving a prison sentence for drug trafficking.
Nkanta was apprehended at his residence in Mmanta-Abak Village, Abak Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State, where NDLEA operatives recovered 5.7 kilograms of skunk, a potent strain of cannabis.
The agency’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, disclosed the arrest in a statement on Sunday, noting that Nkanta had previously been convicted in December 2022 and sentenced to two years’ imprisonment by a Federal High Court in Uyo.
“Barely three years after he was arrested, prosecuted and sentenced to two years’ imprisonment for dealing in illicit drugs, an 80-year-old grandpa, Jeremiah Nkanta, has again been nabbed by NDLEA operatives for returning to the criminal trade,” Babafemi said.
According to him, the octogenarian was tracked and arrested on Saturday, January 10, 2025, following credible intelligence linking him to renewed drug trafficking activities.
In a related operation in Akwa Ibom State, NDLEA operatives intercepted a 37-year-old businessman, Ani Onyebuchi Romans, along Oron–Ibaka Road in Oron Local Government Area. Romans was travelling with full-body mannequins allegedly destined for Cameroon.\
A search of the mannequins revealed they were stuffed with tramadol pills weighing a total of 5.3 kilograms. Babafemi said the suspect admitted purchasing the opioids in Onitsha, Anambra State, and concealing them in mannequins to evade detection while trafficking them to Cameroon for sale.
“He claimed to reside in Cameroon and was returning to his base after the Christmas and New Year holidays when he was apprehended,” the NDLEA spokesman added.
Meanwhile, in Oyo State, NDLEA raids across Ibadan led to the arrest of several suspected drug dealers and the seizure of large quantities of illicit substances. Among those arrested was 45-year-old Remi Bamidele, popularly known as “Aluko the Mafia,” who was apprehended at Sasa, Ibadan, with 10.696 kilograms of cannabis strains including Colorado, Scottish Loud, Ghana Loud, Canadian Loud and skunk. Two vehicles—a Toyota Venza and a Toyota Yaris—were also seized.
Other arrests in Ibadan included Adeola Toheeb, 27, and Habeeb Ali, 29, from whom assorted drugs and a cash exhibit of ₦1,307,100 were recovered.
In Edo State, NDLEA operatives arrested a dispatch rider, Osagbovo Edigin, 30, alongside Ebimi Labo, 28, and Akhimie Success, 25, at Ihama/Airport Road GRA, Benin City. The arrests followed the seizure of 118 grams of Canadian Loud and a wrap of Colorado.
The NDLEA reiterated its commitment to intensifying its crackdown on drug trafficking networks across the country.
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