September 26,2022

Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency have arrested six cannabis farmers in Edo State after storming their farms at Chigbite, Utese forest in the Ovia North-East LGA and Ekudo forest, Uhunmonde LGA.

Over 10 hectares of cannabis plantation were reportedly destroyed by the agency and more than 193 kilogrammes of the processed illicit substance seized.

The suspects are David Hanson, Ufuoma Progress, Marvelous Armstrong, Marvelous Efe, Joshua Abubakar, and Elijah Abubakar.

The NDLEA spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, in a statement on Sunday, added that a 75-year-old grandfather, Usman Bajama, aka Clemen, topped the list of 22 suspects arrested in operations across seven states by men of the agency.

He noted that during the operations, 1,001,387 bottles and capsules of banned new psychoactive substance, Akuskura and tramadol, as well as 2,536kg of cannabis were seized and over 10 hectares of farms destroyed in Edo and Adamawa

The septuagenarian was arrested in the early hours of Tuesday, September 20, at Anguwan Sate, Mararraban Tola, Mayo Belwa council area of Adamawa, where he had a cannabis plantation from where 49kg of the illicit substance was recovered,” Babafemi added

The spokesman also noted that NDLEA operatives in Lagos intercepted a Volvo truck loaded with 2,146kg of cannabis at the Sangotedo area of Ajah and arrested three suspects, Abdulazeez Rasheed, Afeez Raheem, and Moshood Suleiman.

He said, “Anti-narcotic officers also arrested two freight agents over attempts to smuggle 26.20kg cannabis concealed in cereal packs through the SAHCO shed for export to Dubai, UAE, through the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja Lagos.

“Further investigation led to the arrest of Olatunbosun Damilola Abimbola, 34, who works at Ashadox Logistics Services, a cargo company on Friday, September 23. He confessed to the crime but stated that he acted on the instructions of his Managing Director, Oloyede Abiola, a 40-year-old man, who was later arrested.

“In Kwara, at least 19,878 bottles of the banned new psychoactive substance, Akuskura, were intercepted by the operatives along Ilorin-Jebba highway on Wednesday, September 21, and two suspects, Oladokun Oluwaseun, 49, and Ibrahim Jimoh, 27, were arrested

“At least, 979,119 capsules of expired pregabalin weighing 733kg were recovered from Musbahu Ya’u, 28, and five others at Dansarai area of Kano, while in Enugu, 197.8kg cannabis was recovered in a store at new market, Enugu, on Tuesday, September 20.