Jan. 4, 2026

Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) in Oyo state on Monday 29th December 2025 arrested a wanted female drug kingpin who is a major illicit drug distributor in Ibadan, the state capital.

The 65-year-old grandma, Fatima Ilori, popularly known as Mama Kerosine was nabbed in an intelligence-led operation following the seizure of 238.4kg skunk, a strain of cannabis, linked to her.

The NDLEA in a statement on Sunday by its spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, said she was arrested along with another female suspect Olusanya Abosede, 35, at Onireke/Elekuro area of Ibadan.

In like manner, Commands and formations of the Agency across the country continued their War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitization activities to schools, worship centres, work places and communities among others in the past week.

These include: WADA enlightenment lecture to students and staff of Madrasatu Fadimatul Zahra Sabuwar Abuja Kankia, Kankia LGA, Katsina; members of Topo Youth Progressive Organisation, Topo Badagry, Lagos; and residents of Madalla community at the palace of Hakimi Madalla, Niger state, among others.

While commending the officers and men of DOGI, Apapa, Oyo, Borno, Lagos, Kwara and Jigawa Commands for the arrests, and seizures, Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd) enjoined them and their colleagues across the country to intensify the ongoing drug control efforts of the Agency.

Also various quantities of illicit substances including Ketamine, Ecstasy and Tramadol pills concealed in sachets of coffee mix and book parcel heading to Zambia and the United Kingdom wre intercepted.

The seizures made at a courier company in Lagos on 24th and 29th December 2025 came just as the Agency has taken into custody 22 Indian crew members of a merchant vessel, MV Aruna Hulya, in which 31.5 kilograms of cocaine were seized by operatives at the GDNL terminal, Apapa port Lagos on Friday 2nd January 2026.

Those detained in connection with the discovery of the 31.5kg cocaine in hatch 3 of the ship which originated from Marshall Islands, include the Master of the Vessel, Sharma Shashi Bhushan and 21 other crew members, namely: Bharati Manoj Kumar; Bhalerao Nilesh Mukund; Nadar Anthony Macson David; Kolusu Srinivasa Rao; Sagar Gaurav; Francis Anto Beemas Nester; Jagdeep Singh; Jai Parkash; Prabhukhan Singh; Nevage Sandesh Suresh; Pandey Prashant; Nittu Anand; Akash Babu; Dasari Raju; Reddy Nandika Sanjeeba; Rana Nivesh; Melethil Insaf Rahman; Barla Chantanya Krishna; Ghosh Arijit; Mondal Raihan; and
Gangwar Shiv Om.