The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested two elderly men, aged 84 and 75, for allegedly dealing in illicit substances and supplying drugs to secondary school students in Umuahia, Abia State.

The suspects, identified as Godfrey Orji, 84, and Godwin Obulunbiya Obiora, 75, were apprehended in separate operations following intelligence reports and investigations by the agency.

Obiora was arrested at his patent medicine store on Club Road, Umuahia, where NDLEA operatives recovered 4.64 kilograms of opioids, including tramadol and diazepam. He was accused of selling the substances to students and other residents.

Orji, a pensioner, was reportedly caught by security personnel at Saint Silas Secondary School while supplying illicit drugs to two teenage students. The school authorities handed him over to the police before he was transferred to NDLEA custody.

According to the agency, one of the students, a 15-year-old SS2 pupil, admitted receiving drugs from Orji for personal use and resale to fellow students. The students have since been placed on counselling and rehabilitation, while the suspects are expected to face prosecution.

In related operations, NDLEA intercepted 9.5 kilograms of the synthetic cannabinoid ADB-Chminaca concealed in a shipment from China and recovered additional quantities of cannabis and codeine syrup during raids in Lagos, Kogi, Ekiti, Oyo and Edo states.

The agency also reported the seizure and destruction of large quantities of cannabis across several states, alongside the arrest of multiple suspects linked to drug trafficking networks.

NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig.-Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), commended officers involved in the operations and urged them to sustain efforts aimed at reducing drug trafficking and abuse across the country.