Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have destroyed 7,286 kilograms (72.86 tons) of warehoused skunk, as well as five hectares of its plantation in Edo State
The NDLEA operatives stormed the five-hectare plantation of skunk in the Ujiogba Forest Reserve in Esan West Local Government Area of the state.
This was part of sting operations to stop the use of illegal drugs across the country ahead of the commencement of the Saturday general election.
As contained in a press release by the NDLEA Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, the special operation was carried out on Wednesday.
He said there was a credible intelligence that some cartels had warehoused hundreds of jumbo bags of the illicit substance inside the thick forest of the reserve for distribution to some states ahead of the general election.
“The operation could however not commence immediately until after several road blocks set up by armed guards of the drug lords were cleared and were overpowered by the superior firepower of Strike Force officers of the agency in a gun duel.
“After the initial resistance, two rifles, spent cartridges of short guns and an empty shell of AK47 rifle were recovered while a 24-year-old suspect, Calvary Essien, was arrested.
“After the gun fight, the NDLEA operatives in their numbers successfully descended on a big warehouse constructed with wood and zinc,” he stated.
Found in the warehouse were 100 jumbo bags of cannabis sativa, weighing 3.2 tons; 5,000 bags of cannabis, weighing 65 tons; and 137 bags of cannabis seeds, weighing 4.66 tons, all totaling 72.86 tons.
“Seven bags of cannabis and one bag of its seeds were subsequently taken out of the warehouse for further investigation and prosecution of suspects, while the rest was set ablaze,” Babafemi added.
The latest operation was coming on the heels of a similar operation on Wednesday, 18 January in the Opuje Forest in Owan West Local Government Area of the state.
Massive warehouses and tents storing over 317,417 kilograms (317.4 metric tons) of the psychoactive substance were destroyed and set ablaze in a two-day operation in the forest.
At least, a police impersonator, Omoruan Theophilus (37), who paraded himself as a Police Inspector to convey the drugs from the forests to the cities, was arrested.
Theophilus was arrested with three others: Aigberuan Jacob (42); Ekeinde Anthony Zaza (53) and Naomi Patience Ohiewere (42), in connection with the drugs.
Reacting to the latest operation in Ujiogba forest, Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd), commended all the officers involved in the effort.
He also commended all the almost 10,000 NDLEA officers, men and women deployed across the country in the renewed offensive action to clear illicit substances for use by thugs and miscreants before, during and after the elections.
He said taking the battle to the cartels’ doorsteps, deep in the forests, was to attack the menace of drug supply from the source.
He added that it was also to send the right message to the barons that there is no safe haven for them and their investments anywhere in the country.
