NDLEA operatives
In a sweeping nationwide crackdown, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has destroyed over 20,000 kilograms of cannabis on a massive plantation in Osun State while arresting multiple suspects and intercepting illicit drug shipments across Lagos, Plateau, Kogi, and Edo states.
Director of Media and Advocacy for the NDLEA, Mr. Femi Babafemi, disclosed these operations in a statement released on Sunday in Abuja.
According to the agency, the most significant operation took place on September 30, when NDLEA operatives raided and destroyed 20,234 kilograms of skunk cultivated across an 8.0936-hectare cannabis farm tucked deep inside a forest at Area 4, Ife South Local Government Area of Osun State.
Multiple Arrests and Interceptions Across States
In Plateau State, operatives acting on intelligence arrested a suspect on September 29 in the West of Mines area of Jos North, following the seizure of 33 bags of skunk weighing 385kg.
In a separate development in the same state, a 47-year-old fugitive was re-arrested on September 29 after six years on the run. The suspect had been facing trial at the Federal High Court in Jos for alleged possession and dealing of 198 kilograms of skunk before jumping bail in December 2020.
Lagos State also saw a series of high-impact raids:
On September 28, operatives raided an unoccupied compound at Divine Estate, Ago Palace, recovering 209,000 tablets of tramadol.
On September 30, a 23-year-old was nabbed in a follow-up operation at the Ladipo Spare Parts Market following the seizure of 61 grams of Colorado, a synthetic strain of cannabis.
Authorities also intercepted 24 grams of methamphetamine cleverly concealed inside an energy drink bottle used as a waybill package sent via a commercial bus along the Lagos-Ibadan expressway.
Along the Okene-Lokoja highway in Kogi State, officers on patrol intercepted a Lagos-Abuja commuter bus on September 30, discovering two sachets of methamphetamine weighing 1kg hidden in a waybill. A swift follow-up operation led to the arrest of the consignment’s owner in Utako, Abuja.
Meanwhile, in Edo State, NDLEA officers raided a suspect’s residence in the Uyere community, Ovia North-East LGA, on October 2, recovering 32.2kg of cannabis sativa. On the same day, another suspect was intercepted at the Auchi Bypass in Benin City, in possession of multiple illicit substances, including 59 grams of Loud, 19 grams of Tramadol, 16 grams of methamphetamine, 12 grams of Colorado, 4 grams of Swinol, and 4 grams of Molly.
The NDLEA reiterated its resolve to dismantle drug syndicates, dismantle illicit cultivation sites, and track down fleeing suspects across the country.
