NDLEA arrests 429 drug suspects in one year in Abia

…Convicts 95 suspects in 104 cases

National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) Abia State command has said that it arrested a total of 429 suspects (355 males and 74 females) between June 2025 to June 2026.

Chigbu Chilee, commander, Abia State Command of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), made this known Friday, at the commemoration of 2026 International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking (World Drug Day).

Speaking on the theme ‘World drug problem: persisting issues, new challenges, innovative responses’, Chilee said that the Abia State Command of the NDLEA was already aggressive in its sensitisation now that illicit drug dealers have started penetrating secondary schools.

Speaking on the new strategies and the theme, the commander said that the theme underscored the evolving and underwhelming drug landscape.

According to him, the theme acknowledges that while old battlegrounds remain new, synthetic threats, sophisticated traffic networks and digital illicit markets have emerged.

Read also: NDLEA nabs 75-year-old grandma, 2 couples in nationwide drug raids

He said that the current rate of drug peddling demands that NDLEA counter the dealers with proactive technology driven by early innovative responses, as NDLEA has long recognised that old strategies cannot solve new problems.

“The Abia State command, with the continued support of the National Headquarters and the Abia State government, has heavily modernised our operations and balanced our enforcement capabilities with aggressive social advocacy, through our war against drugs initiative, which remains our primary vehicle for preventive actions,” he said.

Speaking further on the strategy, he said that the agency divided the drug remand directorates into two, because it knows it can’t win the war by arrest.

“So, we now have Counselling, Treatment and Rehabilitation (CTR) and Prevention and Sensitisation (PS). So, it’s a balanced approach that’s helping us to reduce both the supply and the demand.

“Every week, we sensitise three to four schools in Abia State. It is a programme of its own, just to win this war. If we reduce the number of young people getting involved, we’ll definitely win the war.”

He also said that every opportunity to commemorate the UN Day against drug abuse is a vital occasion, where all the collective efforts of the agency against illicit drugs are meant to be evaluated and looked into with definitive direction for the next 12 months.

He said that the Abia State Command of the NDLEA in the last one year (June 26, 2025 to June 26, 2026), recorded massive achievements in the area of arrest and seizure, prosecution and conviction, counselling, treatment and rehabilitation, prevention, sensitisation and intervention.

Speaking on arrest and seizures, the commander said that a total of 429 suspects, with the males numbering 355 and the females numbering 74, were arrested within the period under review.

Within the same period, seizures included cocaine, heroin, cannabis sativa, methamphetamine (mkpuru mmiri), tramadol, and other drugs with a total weight of two thousand and seventy-eight kilograms (2,078 kilograms).

“We’ve made some arrests that are worthy of note, like the one of December 11, 2025, where we busted an illegal production site for cough syrup with codeine in Umuokapara, Arungwa, with a total of 9,915 bottles of illegally manufactured bottles of codeine cough syrup weighing 1.15 tonnes.

Chilee explained that the command currently has in its custody Godwin Obiorah, a septuagenarian, and Godwin Orji, an octogenarian, who were arrested in the case of dealing in illicit drugs.

“As for the other 75-year-old man, the septuagenarian Godwin Obiorah, he was arrested on June 19, 2026, by officers of the NDLEA based on intelligence in Umuahia with 4.6 kilograms of assorted psychotropic substances, which include Diazepam and Tramadol. He’s here with us, and sooner we’ll prosecute him.

“As for Godfrey Orji, the octogenarian, he is currently 84 years old. He was arrested on June 18, 2026 by the vigilante group that are in charge of St Silas Secondary School, Old Umuahia.

“They arrested Emmanuel Peters, a 15-year-old, SS2 student, with cannabis sativa, which he distributes to his fellow students. When he was arrested, he pointed fingers at Godfrey Orji as his supplier.

“They arrested Orji with the student, took them to the police, and the police brought them to the NDLEA. That was how we got Orji. Recall that the young man is a minor and he’s in school.

“We can’t stop him from his education. What we did on him was intervention with the parents; got to the school and planned a date with the school to often come and sensitise them, because most of them are affected. He will be coming intermittently with his mother for counselling, while Orji is still in detention and awaiting prosecution.”

On prosecution and conviction, Chilee said that within the period under review, the command filed 104 fresh charges at the Federal High Court, Umuahia Division, and recorded 95 convictions and currently has 23 pending criminal cases.

Explaining the reason behind successful conviction, Chilee said, “We’ve left reactive operations for proactive operations. We criminalise the dealers, not the users. Before we get you and take you to court, we must have gathered all necessary information to nail the suspect, not just to make unnecessary arrests. When we arrest them with these available pieces of evidence, it’s difficult for anybody to escape.”

Speaking on counselling, treatment and rehabilitation, Chilee said that the NDLEA counselled a total of 166 clients, with 155 male and 11 female.

He also stated that they have discharged 120 clients and currently have about 48 people in admission, which include 44 males and four females.

He added that within the period under review, the NDLEA Abia State command has received several awards for their efforts towards fighting drugs, including a “commendation award in rehabilitation, counselling and treatment”, while on an individual level, Ikechukwu Akunne, the Command’s Public Relations Officer got a “merit/commendation award in recognition of his outstanding dedication and hard work”.

Chilee said that despite all the challenges that the Abia State government under Governor Alex Otti has been of tremendous help to the command, especially in the area of logistics, as it has provided them with 2 Toyota Hiluxes, a Toyota Sienna and an IVM van and equally inspected their bad vehicles to help them out and put them in good shape.

He also said that Governor Alex Otti has approved land in Umuahia for the construction of the Command’s head office.