By IBIRONKE ARIYO

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a 90-year-old man for selling drugs to youths in Rimi Local Government Area (LGA) of Katsina State.

Its Director, Media and Advocacy, Mr Femi Babafemi, said this in a statement made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday in Abuja.

Babafemi said the suspect, Yusuf Yarkadir, under interrogation, confessed he had been selling cannabis sativa to youths in his community for eight years.

According to Babafemi, the suspect who failed to disclose his source of supply, however, vowed his arrest on July 17 would make him to back out of the business, having tried in the past to stop the illicit trade without success.

In the same vein, Babafemi said narcotic officers in Ondo State command of the agency had arrested two teenage siblings along with other suspects for dealing in assorted illicit drugs in the state capital.

He said the teenagers; Onyema Sunday, 16, and his sister, Onyema Amaka, 15, were arrested in Car street area of Akure with 1.894 kg of Tramadol on Monday 5th July.

He also said a 23-year-old boy, Kazeem Oluyede, was nabbed in Eru Oba area of the capital city with 300grams of cannabis and 3grams of methamphetamine.

He added that a lady, Maryam Musa, 35, was also arrested in Igbara-Oke, Ifedore local council area of the state with 5.5kg of cannabis, and that all the arrests were made on the same day.

Babafemi also said in Ondo State, following credible intelligence and surveillance, NDLEA operatives on Wednesday July 7, stormed the Ogbese Market, in Akure North LGA.

This, he said, was the location where Messrs Jalamia Ochonogor and Austin Uzoka were arrested with 63kg of cannabis.

Babafemi said at least seven persons had been arrested and 28.091 kg of assorted drugs such as Diazepam, Exol-5, Rophynol, Tramadol, Codeine, and cannabis recovered from them in Bauchi State.

He said those arrested in two separate raids by operatives of the Bauchi State command of the agency included: Sunday Obi, Abba Abdullahi, Samuel John, Chijioke Agu, Sani Musa, Alhaji Alhaji Baffa and Abubakar Saidu.

Meanwhile, different quantities of illicit drugs being transported to the United States, the United Kingdom and New Zealand have been intercepted and seized.

The arrest and seizures were made by narcotic officers of the Directorate of Operations and General Investigations, (DOGI) attached to some courier companies in Lagos.

According to Babafemi, in one of the courier firms, 400 grams of Ketamine hidden in walls of hair attachments carton coming from Cameroon and heading to the US was seized.

“Others include: 30grams of Tramadol concealed in female headgear coming from Onitsha, Anambra state and going to the UK.

“200grams of Ketamine from Cameroon going to USA; and 400grams of Methamphetamine from Asaba, Delta state heading to New Zealand, ” he said.

Babafemi quoted the Chairman, NDLEA retired Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa, as commending the officers and men of Katsina, Ondo and Bauchi Commands as well as DOGI for their vigilance.

He commended their commitment to the goal of ridding every community in Nigeria of the menace of drug abuse and trafficking.

He charged them not to relent and to continue to raise the bar in the ongoing offensive against the scourge and the cartels behind them. (NAN)

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