Nine persons arrested with 1,292kg of illicit drug in Ondo forest

By Modupe Shodeinde

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) apprehended nine dealers of illicit drugs, with 1,292 kilograms of cannabis sativa and its seeds in their possession.

The state commander of the Agency, Mr. Haruna Gagara, in a statement on Friday, disclosed that 711.5kg of the cannabis seeds was recovered from a forest in Ago Oyibo area of Ogbese, Akure North Local Government Area of the state.

Gagara stated that the seizure has thwarted the mass cultivation of an estimated 250 hectares of cannabis sativa farmland in Ondo State.

According to him, this cultivation, would have produced an estimated 443,000 kilograms of cannabis.

He said the operatives stormed the forest on Thursday, February 18, 2021 following intelligence, and arrested Some of the suspects in connection to the seizure.

They are: Alex Moses, 35; Oshie Emmanuel, 20; Friday Effiong, 31; Emmanuel Akpan, 25, and David Friday, 19.

Gagara also spoke of an earlier interception of a vehicle loaded with 580.5kg of the illicit drug along Ogbese-Owo road.

“The consignment was to be smuggled to Kano State. If it had not been intercepted, it may further fuel the current insecurity and banditry being experienced in the North-West region of Nigeria,” he stated.

He commended the Chairman/Chief Executive of the NDLEA, Gen. Buba Marwa (retd) for motivating them to always go on the offensive against illicit drug traffickers and dealers.

He warned those who indulge in the illicit cultivation and trafficking of cannabis sativa in the state to desist from doing so, as “tere will be no hiding place for them”