Nigeria: NDLEA arrests 80-year-old grandpa with drugs, intercepts N14.9bn opioids

Aremu Shojobi, an 80-year-old grandpa, was apprehended by (NDLEA) National Drug Law Enforcement Agency agents in possession of 14 kilogrammes of cannabis.

Shojobi admitted to selling illegal substances for the previous 25 years, the agency said.
The agency’s spokeswoman, Femi Babafemi, said in a statement on Sunday that the suspect got the pills from the Benin Republic.

According to Babafemi, “On Friday, September 20, at his home in the Iyana Ipaja area of the state, Pa Aremu Shojobi, an 80-year-old grandfather, was arrested by agents of the Lagos State Strategic Command of the agency with 14 kilogrammes of cannabis.” The elderly man asserted in his statement that he had been dealing illegal substances for 25 years. He said that he got his materials from the Republic of Benin and sold to his customers from his residence between 7 am and 10 pm every day.

Babafemi also reported that a total of 25 million pills of tapentadol, an opioid three times stronger than tramadol, and 350,000 bottles of codeine-based syrup were recovered at the Tincan port complex in Lagos

He added that the seizures were made on 17th and 20th September 2024, from three containers that had been on the agency’s watchlist following processed intelligence.

“As a result, the NDLEA requested a 100% joint examination of the shipments with officers from the Nigeria Customs Service and other security agencies. The 25 million pills of tapentadol have an estimated street value of N13,725,000,000, while the codeine consignment has an estimated street value of N2,450,000,000, bringing the total value of the seizures to N14,950,000,000.

On Tuesday, September 17th, a container containing 500 cartons of tapentadol was found, and that same day, another container with 175,000 bottles of Barcadin cough syrup with codeine packaged in 875 cartons was investigated. On Friday, September 20, the third container, which had 175,000 bottles of CSC cough syrup with codeine, was inspected, according to the statement.