NDLEA destroys 3 tons of skunk in Edo forest, seizes 76.9kg Loud from Canada
By EZEKIEL OBI, Abuja-
Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, have stormed lwe forest in lwe community, Owan West local government area of Edo state, where they located a large warehouse of skunk, used to store 231 jumbo bags of the psychotropic substance weighing 3,003 kilograms (over 3 tons), which was set ablaze.
The NDLEA spokesman, Mr Femi Babafemi, disclosed this in a statement issued to NATIONAL ACCORD on Sunday in Abuja.
Mr. Babafemi said the operation involving hundreds of well-armed NDLEA operatives in the early hours of Tuesday 30″ May followed intelligence that a wanted drug kingpin had stored tons of the illicit substance in the forest ready for distribution to other parts of the country.
Meanwhile, not less than 76.9 kilograms of Canadian Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis were recovered from four used vehicles in a container marked MSDU6686346 from Canada at the Port Harcourt Ports Complex, Onne, Rivers state between Thursday 1 June and Friday 2″d June during a joint inspection of the shipment with men of the Nigeria Customs Service. The request for 100 percent examination of the shipment followed earlier intelligence received by the Agency on the container.
…. Recovers 390kg illicit drugs in Kano, Kaduna, Borno, Oyo raids
In Kano state, two Suspects: Ma’aruf Rabiu and Abubakar Mustapha were arrested on Tuesday 30 May along Zaria-Kano road with 260 blocks of cannabis 139.4kg, while Auwal lbrahim was nabbed with 38kg of the same substance the following day Wednesday 31″ May along Kaduna-Abuja road, same day 35-year-old female suspect, Bilkisu lsiya, was arrested at Birnin Yero, Kaduna in possession of 5.6kg cannabis.
In Borno state, two suspects: Abubakar Usman (aka Alhaji Mai Kero) and Adamu Yusuf were arrested at Bargu village, Shani LGA, on Saturday 3 June with 165 blocks of skunk weighing 140.7kg. Their arrest was effected deep inside a fluid insurgents’ environment with military support. A female suspect, Hauwa lbrahim, 25, was also nabbed in the same village with 6.4kg of the psychoactive substance, while another suspect Alhaji Abubakar, 27, was arrested at Njimtilo checkpoint with 4,200 ampoules of pentazocine injection and different quantities of D5 and exol-5 tablets.
A 30-year-old suspect, Iroko Wasiu was arrested at a drug joint at Sabo Aba-Owolowo along 0yo-Ogbomoso expressway on Tuesday 30th May and 31.2kg of cannabis recovered from him, while two suspects: Deji Adelabu, 35, and Mutiu Salau, 37, were nabbed the following day Wednesday 31″ May in Sabo area along Oyo-Ogbomoso road and Awuro Dada area in Orire local government area of Oyo state with a total of 8kg cannabis recovered from them.
Meanwhile, Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd) has commended the officers and men of the Edo, Onne Ports, Kano, Kaduna, Borno and Oyo state Commands for their commitment and synergy with other law enforcement agencies in their areas of responsibility.
He urged them and their compatriots across the country to intensify the offensive action against drug cartels while ensuring a balance with drug demand reduction efforts.