The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, has destroyed a record 20,234 kilogrammes of skunk from an 8.0936-hectare cannabis farm in Area 4, Ife South Local Government Area of Osun State.
The destruction was carried out on Wednesday, September 30, as part of intensified operations against illicit cannabis cultivation across the country.
In Plateau State, NDLEA operatives arrested 41-year-old Agbo Dennis on Tuesday, September 29, at the West of Mines area of Jos North, following the seizure of 33 bags of skunk weighing 385 kilogrammes.
In Lagos, NDLEA operatives on Monday, September 28, raided an unoccupied compound at Divine Estate, Ago Palace, where they recovered 209,000 tablets of tramadol.
A follow-up operation at Ladipo Spare Parts Market on Wednesday, September 30, led to the arrest of 23-year-old Ekundayo Taiwo.
The arrest followed the seizure, the previous day, of 61 grammes of Colorado, a synthetic strain of cannabis, and 24 grammes of methamphetamine concealed inside an energy-drink bottle and sent as a waybill package through a commercial bus driver along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.
In Kogi State, NDLEA officers on patrol along the Okene-Lokoja Highway on Wednesday, September 30, intercepted a Lagos-Abuja commuter bus and discovered two sachets of methamphetamine weighing one kilogramme concealed in a waybill package.
A follow-up operation in Abuja led to the arrest of the alleged owner of the consignment, 29-year-old Michael Chukwuememka Uzoma, at Utako.
In Edo State, NDLEA operatives on Friday, October 2, raided the residence of 35-year-old Saturday Omimi in Uyere community, Ovia North-East Local Government Area, recovering 32.2 kilogrammes of cannabis sativa.
The same day, operatives arrested 23-year-old Osazuwa Iyabor Michael at Auchi Bypass, Benin City, with 59 grammes of Loud, 12 grammes of Colorado, 19 grammes of tramadol, 16 grammes of methamphetamine, four grammes of Swinol and four grammes of Molly.
Meanwhile, a 47-year-old fugitive, Idris Mohammed Kurra, has been arrested six years after allegedly jumping bail in a drug trafficking case.
Kurra was arrested by NDLEA operatives on Tuesday, September 29. He had been facing trial before the Federal High Court in Jos, Plateau State, over alleged possession and dealing in 198 kilogrammes of skunk.
The suspect reportedly jumped bail granted by the court in December 2020 and remained at large until his arrest six years later.
While commending the officers and men of the various commands for their professionalism and intelligence-driven approach to the successful operations, the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd), urged them and their colleagues across the country to sustain the onslaught against drug trafficking networks.
Marwa also called on the officers to maintain the agency’s current balanced approach to drug control efforts, combining enforcement operations with other measures aimed at addressing the drug problem.