In 14 months, 10 grandparents have been arrested by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) for alleged involvement in drug trafficking and related offences across Nigeria. The incidents highlight the growing involvement of elderly persons in the illicit drug trade.
LEADERSHIP review of NDLEA statements issued between May 2025 and July 2026 showed that those arrested were six grandmothers and four grandfathers in separate operations across the country and at international entry points.
According to the findings, the latest case is that of a 67-year-old Nigerian-British grandmother arrested at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, after operatives reportedly recovered 13 kilogrammes of cocaine concealed in processed plantain peels.
The agency also arrested a 63-year-old Chinese grandmother at the same airport over the alleged importation of 31 kilogrammes of synthetic cannabis.
Earlier, NDLEA operatives arrested a 65-year-old woman, popularly known as “Mama Kerosine”, who had been declared wanted for her alleged role in a drug distribution network in Oyo State. Other elderly suspects include an 80-year-old grandmother in Cross River, an 82-year-old grandmother, an 80-year-old ex-convict, a 93-year-old great-grandfather and two other grandfathers aged 83 and 78.
The arrests, made in different operations nationwide, underscore what anti-narcotics officials described as an emerging trend in which drug trafficking syndicates exploit elderly persons, believing they are less likely to attract the attention of law enforcement agencies.
Meanwhile, NDLEA chairman, Brig.-Gen. Mohammed Buba Marwa (rtd), has maintained that the agency will continue to pursue traffickers irrespective of age, gender or social status, while intensifying intelligence-driven operations and public awareness campaigns to curb the menace of illicit drugs in Nigeria.
