Olajide Meseko
Chairman/Chief Executive of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Gen. Mohammed Buba Marwa rtd has warned drug barons and traffickers that they will be smoked out and made to face the consequences of their crime.
Marwa issued the warning on Sunday while reacting to the arrest of seven drug barons operating four large warehouses in Ukpuje forest, Owan West Local Government Area of Edo State.
Following the arrests, a total of 16, 344 bags of cannabis and seeds, weighing 233, 778kg were seized in addition to two pump action rifles and one double barrel guns.
The estimated street value of the seized illicit drug was put at over N1.4billion.
The suspects in NDLEA custody include: Emmanuel Oki, 62, who is the chairman of the vigilante group in Ukpuje; Chief Odi Sabato, 42, and Bright Inemi Edegbe, 53.
Others are Gowon Ehimigbai, 53; Enodi Ode, 37; Ayo Oni, 30 and Akhime Benjamin, 43.
According to the Edo State Commander of the anti-drug agency, Buba Wakawa, it was the largest single concentration of cannabis discovered by the command.
He gave the breakdown of the drugs as follows: 318 bags of 80kg each weighing 25,440kg; 15,853 bags of 13kg weighing 206,089kg. However, while the total quantity seized is 2,249kg, others weighing 231,529kg were destroyed inside the warehouses.
Wakawa attributed the success of the operation to the enabling environment created by the new Chairman/Chief Executive of the Agency, General Buba Marwa.
Marwa commended the Edo State Command and Nigeria Army in Benin City, for their support to ensure the success of the operation, stressing that such offensive action will be sustained across the country.
He said with recent huge seizures of cocaine and heroin at Lagos and Abuja airports; cannabis and others in Nasarawa and Katsina states by the respective Commands, the NDLEA will continue to expand its dragnet until the war against illicit drugs is won.