NDLEA operatives from the Ondo State command destroyed 255 hectares of cannabis sativa farms, also known as Indian hemp, valued at over N900 million naira.
In a sting operation, operatives from the agency’s five commands stormed farms in various parts of the state, arresting 13 suspects.
During the week-long operation, 50 hectares of illegal plantation were destroyed at Ogbese in Akure North Local Government Area of the State, 19 at Ipele and 58 at Okeluse, both in Ose Council Area.
30 hectares of plantations were also destroyed at Ala in the Akure axis of the state, as well as five farms along the Ogbese River bank and the Omolowo/Powerline forest in the state.
The NDLEA’s special strike force team from Ondo, Edo, Osun, Oyo, and Ekiti States was led by the agency’s Deputy Director Strike Force, Nnadi Chidi, and destroyed a large number of cannabis nursery beds and seeds.
The agency also seized 250 kilograms of cannabis seeds, 63 kilograms of cannabis weed, 20 kilograms of dried cannabis, two irrigation water pump equipment, and more than 1,500 meters of hose during the raids.
According to Chidi, the exercise was part of General Buba Marwa’s (rtd) determination to reduce drug circulation in Nigeria to the bare minimum.
According to Nnadi, the agency’s Ondo State Command received information about large irrigated cannabis cultivation spread across the state’s five local government areas.
He claimed that it prompted the deployment of the Strike Force unit and officers from the state commands of Ondo, Ekiti, Edo, Oyo, and Osun to completely destroy illegal cannabis cultivation in the state.
