NDLEA arrests 101 years old great-grandmother with cocaine wrapped in Fufu

For the 101-year-old Ma Esther Ogunmabo, what was supposed to be a regular trip to the market at Ilisan, Ogun State, on August 15, 2026, turned out to be a drug bust as the officers of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency intercepted 90 kilograms of skunk cocaine stashed in her bag of edible cassava known as Fufu.

The NDLEA shared news of the arrest in a social media post on August 23, 2026. The post revealed that the 101-year-old great-grandmother resorted to selling the drugs after her previous shop was razed by fire. Investigations revealed that her daughter, who resides in Lagos, supplies her with the drugs every four days, and she then turns them into bits before selling them.

"In a rare and startling development, NDLEA operatives on Saturday, 15th August 2026, arrested a 101-year-old woman, Esther Ogunmabo, in Ilisan, Ogun State, with retail sachets of skunk, a strain of cannabis weighing 90 grams, which she claims she sells to locals. The centenarian told operatives that she resorted to the illicit drug trade after her provisions shop was razed by fire, adding that one of her daughters, who resides in Lagos, arranges the supply of the substance to her every four days, which she in turn sells in bits. The Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig Gen Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), has, however, directed that the suspect be granted bail and placed on counselling because of her advanced age, while her daughter has been arrested."

The news has shocked Nigerians on social media, who have been struck by the age of the arrested great-grandmother, who becomes the oldest recorded arrest in the agency's history.

NDLEA also announced the seizure of synthetic cannabis worth ₦4.4 billion at the Apapa seaport. The agency revealed that the drugs were concealed in other items, which included dry fish, rice, vehicle spare parts, turmeric soap and inverter batteries.

Other seizures announced in the press release include g 24,410 pills of tramadol capsules in Abuja, the recovery of 210 KG of skunk in the Ita Ogbolu area of Ondo State, as well as the destruction of 10,000kg of skunk cultivated across four hectares of the forest in Ondo State.

Other wins recorded by the agency were seizure of 1.325kg of methamphetamine in Kwara state, the recovery of 1.795kg of Scottish Loud, 1.66kg of tramadol, 600g of codeine syrup, 125g of diazepam and 50g of flunitrazepam, totalling 4.68kg in Ibadan, the seizure of 73.3kg in Kano State and the recovery of 14.4kg Loud, 2.3kg Colorado, 386grams of tramadol and 134grams of rohypnol in Abia State.

2026 has been a busy year for the NDLEA, which has made several high-profile arrests, including the recent arrest of a businessman and socialite, Afolabi Kazeem Michael, for attempting to export 184.5kg of cocaine with a street value of ₦39 billion.

Earlier in the year, the NDLEA also busted a large crystal meth factory worth ₦480 billion in Ogun State, where the Nigerian masterminds and their Mexican counterparts were arrested.