Police arrest 101-year-old great-grandmother for selling drugs in sachets

Police in Nigeria have arrested a 101-year-old great-grandmother on suspicion of selling drugs.

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency said Esther Ogunmabo was arrested on Saturday 15 August in possession of 90g of sachets of skunk, a powerful strain of cannabis which she claimed to be selling to locals.

The elderly woman, who was granted bail and sent for counselling, told police that she turned to drug dealing after her shop was razed by fire. She said that one of her daughters in Lagos arranged the supply of the substance to her every four days, which she sold off in bits.

Ms Ogunmabo was pictured holding up a whiteboard listing her personal information as she stood next to a pile of what police said were drugs. Her face was blurred out by the agency.

The suspect was granted bail and placed on counselling due to her advanced age. Her daughter was arrested.

The agency described the arrest of Ms Ogunmabo as a “rare and startling development” as it recorded a number of “significant breakthroughs” in tackling drug crimes across the country’s land and maritime borders.

As well as arresting a centenarian, the agency reported an separate incident where they intercepted cocaine in edible cassava flour popularly known as fufu.

The NDLEA intercepted a wooden boat on the high seas conveying illicit drugs to fishing settlements on Friday (21 August) and arrested three suspects on board.

Etima Effiong Eekpo, 29, was arrested, caught with 1.12kg skunk, while 33-year-old Otobong Eyoh Etukudoh, had 42.06kg of skunk in his possession. Kingsley Effiong John, 27, was found with 20 grams of cocaine concealed inside a large wrap of edible cassava fufu, alongside 435grams of skunk.

The agency also recorded its first ever seizer of drugs shipped from Thailand through the maritime border, intercepting two containers of cannabis indica at the Apapa and Lekki ports.

Both containers were loaded at the Port of Laem Chabang, Thailand, as the force warned of an emerging new trafficking route being exploited by drug syndicates to smuggle synthetic cannabis into the country.