The operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have set ablaze a large warehouse of skunk used to store 231 jumbo bags of the psychotropic substance weighing 3,003 kilograms in Iwe forest in Iwe community, Owan West Local Government Area of Edo State.

The NDLEA Director, Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, disclosed this via a statement issued and made available to The Star on Sunday, June 4.

Babafemi noted that the operation, which involved hundreds of NDLEA operatives in the early hours of Tuesday, May 30, 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.

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The spokesperson of the anti-drug agency added that a 30-year-old suspect, Iroko Wasiu, was arrested at a drug joint at Sabo Aba-Owolowo along Oyo-Ogbomoso expressway in Oyo State on Tuesday, May 30, with 31.2kg of cannabis.

He stated that two suspects – Deji Adelabu, 35, and Mutiu Salau, 37 – were also nabbed on Wednesday, May 31 in Sabo area along the Oyo-Ogbomoso expressway and Awuro Dada area in Orire Local Government Area of Oyo State with 8kg cannabis.

Commending the anti-narcotic officers for their commitment and synergy with other law enforcement agencies in their areas of responsibility, the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retd), 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.

The Star