In its relentless nationwide crackdown on illicit substances, the NDLEA has rearrested 80-year-old Jeremiah Isaiah Nkanta in Akwa Ibom State, proving that old habits truly die hard.
The octogenarian grandfather—an ex-convict who previously served a two-year sentence following a 2022 conviction—was apprehended on Saturday, January 10, 2026, for allegedly returning to the drug trade.
In a statement released Sunday, January 11, NDLEA Director of Media and Publicity Femi Babafemi confirmed the arrest of a suspect identified as Nkanta. The apprehension followed an ”intelligence-led raid on his Mmanta-Abak residence, which resulted in the seizure of 5.7kg of skunk.”
Meanwhile, as part of an ongoing efforts against drug trafficking, NDLEA operatives intercepted 37-year-old trans-border businessman Ani Onyebuchi Romans on the Oron-Ibaka road on Friday, January 9th. Romans found his “clothing business” under fire when a routine search of his cargo—full-body mannequins—revealed they ”were stuffed with 5.3kg of Tramadol. Despite his claims of returning to Cameroon after the New Year holidays, investigations established that he purchased the drugs in Onitsha to traffic them across the border using the mannequins as decoys.”
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