ASABA/Nigeria: The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA says, the organization has discovered a vast expanse of land used for illegal cultivation of cannabis sativa, commonly known as Indian Hemp at Oko community in Aniocha South area of Delta State.
The State Commander of the NDLEA, Dennis Obiefule, stated this in Asaba, the state capital, after a raid on the location, noting a thousand kilograms of the product have so far been seized from the farms after destruction.
The operation was carried out by a combined team of the NDLEA, Civil Defense Corps and vigilante numbering about a hundred participated in the mission.
The team left Asaba at about 8am and after over two hours’ drive through communities in Oko, a suburb of the capital, it got to Oko Amala, where the cannabis plant could be seen planted even by the roadside in large groups.
The NDLEA State Commander Dennis Obiefule, 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.
“It’s part of drug supply reduction effort of the agency, the idea is to take the fight to the farms, instead of allowing cultivators to harvest, then we start looking for them.”
Commander Obiefule, sought the support of the citizenry to provide NDLEA with information about activities on illicit drugs, and urge 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.”
The NDLEA Team Commander of the operation Abdukadir Fakai, noted 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 have trekked more than 5 kilometers, all the 5kilometers is cannabis sativa farm. The first time we seized about eight hundred kilograms; that second time we seized over two hundred kilograms.”
Mr. Fakir, also listed challenges faced during the operation.
We are destroying the plantation manually with cutlasses, we would have preferred machines, or, chemicals.”
Although no arrests was made, some farmers were however seen running into the bushes upon sighting the troop in the area.
