NDLEA intercepts cannabis worth N724.5m, arrests suspects in Edo
The Edo State Command of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intercepted trucks laden with 483 bags of skunk cannabis weighing 7,245 kilograms and arrested five suspected drug traffickers. Addressing journalists in Benin on Monday, the State NDLEA Commander, Mitchell Ofoyeju, said the drugs, worths N724,5000 million, were seized from two trucks laden […]
The Edo State Command of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intercepted trucks laden with 483 bags of skunk cannabis weighing 7,245 kilograms and arrested five suspected drug traffickers.
Addressing journalists in Benin on Monday, the State NDLEA Commander, Mitchell Ofoyeju, said the drugs, worths N724,5000 million, were seized from two trucks laden with illicit substances suspected to be Cannabis.
He listed the suspects arrested in connection with the drugs to include Ibrahim Abu, 29; Abu Abdullazeez, 28; Jibril Jaminu, 35; Andrew Moses, 22; and Ganiyu Abu, 21.
He said preliminary investigation indicated that the illicit shipment originated from Sabongida-Ora in Owan West Local Government Area and was destined for Abuja, before the interception.
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He said the agency, working on intelligence, intercepted the two articulated tucks along the Auchi-Abuja Road axis and on search, the trucks, carrying cartons of beer, were found to be cleverly concealing hundreds of bags of processed weeds.
“A field test confirmed the substance to be skunk cannabis, a highly potent and dangerous variant.”
Giving the breakdown of the seized drugs, Ofoyeju, said the first truck, with registration number OYO LUY 172 XC, contained 260 bags weighing 3,900 kilograms.
‘The second truck, OYO LUY 281 XC, carried 223 bags weighing 3,345 kilograms. The combined haul totalled 483 bags with a gross weight of seven thousand, two hundred and forty-five kilograms (7.245kg).”
He said both trucks will be confiscated as instrumentalities of drug crime.
He assured that a thorough investigation was ongoing to uncover the networks behind the large-scale trafficking and bring all parties involved to justice.
Ofoyeju noted that the seizure prevents the drugs from reaching the streets and destroying countless lives, particularly the youths.
“This successful interception is a clear message to drug barons and traffickers that Edo State is not a safe haven for criminal trade.