The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has discovered a vast expanse of land used for illegal cultivation of cannabis Sativa, in Oko community, Aniocha South, Delta State.
The state commander of the NDLEA, Dennis Obiefule told newsmen in Asaba, the state capital, after a raid on the location, that 1,000kg of the product have so far been seized from the farms.
He said that the raid was conducted by a combined team of the NDLEA, Civil Defence Corps and vigilante numbering about 100.
The team left Asaba at about 8 am and after over two hours’ drive through communities in Oko, got to Oko Amala, where the cannabis could be seen planted even by the roadside in large quantities, he explained.
The commander said the joint operation was aimed at taking the war against merchants of illicit drug to the farms before they smuggle the hemp to the streets.
“This is part of drug supply reduction efforts of the agency and the idea is to take the fight to the farms, instead of allowing cultivators to harvest, then we start looking for them,” he said.
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Obiefule sought the support of the citizens to provide NDLEA with information about activities on illicit drugs and urged the dealers to quit the trade or face the long arm of the law.
“We rely on people to cooperate with us; give us information so that we will be able to follow it to the source, he explained.
The NDLEA team commander of the operation, Abdukadir Fakai, noted that the mission was the third raid on the cannabis farm while giving an estimate of the scope and size of the area discovered by the agency.
“We trekked more than five kilometres, all cannabis Sativa farms. The first time we seized about 800kg; the second time, we seized over 200kg.’”
Fakir, however, listed challenges they encountered during the operation, saying, “we are destroying the plantation manually with cutlasses. We would have preferred machines or chemicals.”
He said that though no arrest was made, some farmers were seen running into the bushes upon sighting the troop in the area.
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