Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a wanted 65-year-old grandma, Fatima Ilori, linked to a major illicit drug distribution ring in Ibadan, the state capital.
The 65-year-old grandma, popularly known as Mama Kerosine, was nabbed in an intelligence-led operation following the seizure of 238.4kg of skunk, a strain of cannabis, linked to her. She was arrested along with another female suspect, Olusanya Abosede, 35, at the Onireke/Elekuro area of Ibadan on Monday, 29th of December 2025.
This was disclosed in a press statement signed by Femi Babafemi, the Director of Media and Advocacy, made available to the public on Sunday.
According to the statement, operatives of the NDLEA intercepted various quantities of illicit substances, including Ketamine, Ecstasy and Tramadol pills concealed in sachets of coffee mix and a book parcel heading to Zambia and the United Kingdom.
The statement revealed that the seizures made at a courier company in Lagos on 24th and 29th December 2025 came just as the Agency had 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.
After the operation, those detained in connection with the discovery of the 31.5kg cocaine in hatch 3 of the ship, which originated from the Marshall Islands, include the Master of the Vessel, Sharma Shashi Bhushan and 21 other crew members.
The crew members include 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.
In Borno state, the supply chain of illicit drugs to insurgents was further disrupted with the arrest of two suppliers and the seizure of large consignments of illicit substances. While one of the suspects, Isa Mohammed, 26, was arrested by NDLEA operatives following the interception of 9,150 ampoules of Tramadol Injection along Maiduguri-Gamboru Ngala road on Friday, 2nd of January 2026, the other suspect, Musa Samaila, 30, was nabbed with 34,000 capsules of Tramadol at Biu market on the same day.
Not less than 400kg of skunk was recovered along with a van at Mobolaji Johnson area of Lagos on New Year’s Day, Thursday 1st January, while a suspect, Bilya Ibrahim, 39, was arrested at a motor park in Hadejia town, Jigawa State, on Tuesday 30th December 2025 while trying to transport 260 compressed blocks of skunk weighing 140.8kg, which he procured from Taraba State to Nguru, Yobe State.
In Kwara state, NDLEA officers on Tuesday, 30th December, recovered 238.50kg skunk from the home of a suspect at Asadam area of Ilorin, while a total of 32,000 pills of tramadol and diazepam were seized from another suspect, Abubakar Rabiu, 32, at Bode Saadu, Morro LGA, on New Year’s Eve, Wednesday 31st December 2025.
The Chairman of the NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd) commended the officers and men of DOGI, Apapa, Oyo, Borno, Lagos, Kwara and Jigawa Commands for the arrests and seizures, urging them to intensify the ongoing drug control efforts of the Agency across the country.
