The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested two elderly men in Abia state for allegedly selling illicit drugs to secondary school students.
The suspects, identified as 84-year-old Godfrey Orji and 75-year-old Godwin Obulunbiya Obiora, were arrested in separate operations in Umuahia, as the agency intensified its crackdown on drug trafficking across the country.
Femi Babafemi, NDLEA spokesman, in a statement on Sunday, said Obiora was arrested on June 19 following intelligence that he was selling illicit substances to students and other residents from his patent medicine store located on Club Road, Umuahia.
According to the agency, a search of the premises led to the recovery of 4.64 kilogrammes of opioids, including tramadol and diazepam.
Babafemi said Orji, a pensioner, was apprehended on June 18 after he was caught by security personnel at Saint Silas Secondary School in Old Umuahia, allegedly supplying drugs to two teenage students.
“The guards thereafter handed them over to the police who in turn transferred them to NDLEA on Thursday 18th June,” he said.
One of the students, a 15-year-old senior secondary school 2 pupil, reportedly told investigators that Orji supplied him with drugs for personal use and resale to other students.
While the two suspects are expected to face prosecution, NDLEA said the teenagers have been placed on counselling and rehabilitation programmes.
