The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested two persons suspected to be dealers in cannabis while confiscating 18,294 kilogrammes of the drug estimated to be worth N183 million, the Punch is reporting .
The Edo State commander of the NDLEA, Wakawa Buba, said that the 18,294kg of cannabis were seized in three operations.
In one of the operations, one of the suspects, Muhammed Mustapha, was arrested at Uzebba, Edo State while trying to move 7,272 kilos of the substance to Bauchi State.
Another 3,072kilos was found in the warehouse of another dealer, Lucky Akele at Uzebba.
Then, 7,950kg of cannabis with few bags of cement used as cover inside a Dangote cement truck were intercepted at Enweh area of the state.
The truck driver, Zegiru Amadu, said he was moving the drug to Maiduguri, Borno State.
“All the cases are under investigation and the suspects will soon be charged to court for unlawful possession and dealing in cannabis.
They risk a minimum of fifteen years sentence if found guilty ,” Wakawa said.
The Dangote trailer driver told the police he was paid N1.3m to transport the cannabis to Maiduguri, Borno State.
Amadu claimed that poverty pushed him to take the money and agree to the deal.
Commending the officers involved in the operations, NDLEA Chairman, Col. Muhammad Abdallah (retd.) described the seizure as a necessary step in reducing drugs from circulation.
“Over 15 tons of cannabis would have been taken to the North East if not for the timely interception.
Several crimes are perpetrated under the influence of drugs like cannabis and the agency will not rest until the problem of cannabis cultivation, trafficking and use is drastically reduced ,” he said.
Cannabis is the most commonly abused substance in Nigeria. The NDLEA has intensified efforts over the years to discourage its cultivation and use.
But dealers keep coming up with creative ways of moving the plant around in order to avoid detection.
