War against Illicit Drugs
Adibe Emenyonu writes on the arrest of a 64-year-old man linked to the discovery of 5,650kg of cannabis at two warehouses by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency
In the month of February this year, men of Edo Command of National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) conducted one of its annuls: the public destruction of various narcotic drugs mainly cannabis, weighing 136,844kgs. The exercise was considered a big achievement considering the fact that every year, the number of kilogrammes of destroyed hard drugs are always on the increase.
This is because most of the seizures made by operatives of the command are usually done when drug couriers are either arrested while hauling or peddling the illicit commodity.
Never has the anti-drug agency made a major discovery in a single swoop until recently when its personnel stumbled into a residential building through intelligence report.
According to information available to THISDAY, the discoveries were made in two separate residential apartments where no one can imagine something like that could be hidden considering the huge awareness by members of the public on the danger the drug pose to society.
Even as the weeds were in the buildings, they were not found in any of the rooms but stack away inside the ceiling from prying eyes of the public and security operatives.
Speaking on the seizures, Edo State Commander of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, Buba Wakawa, disclosed that but for intelligence gathering, his men would just have gone to the designated building without seeing anything suspicious and will just come back empty, accusing the informant of giving out false information.
These are not the only surprises. The big shock is that a 64-year-old grandfather was allegedly to be the one behind the drug cartel.
While the major merchants who are said to be at large go out to buy, his job is to stock the commodities in the ceiling of his apartment without the knowledge of anyone.
According to Wakawa, "All the exhibits were found in two warehouses. The Egor warehouse was hidden inside the ceiling of a bungalow. A 64-year-old grandfather, Daniel Idemudia who resides in the warehouse has been arrested.
"We were shocked to discover 280 sacks of dried weeds suspected to be cannabis sativa all hidden inside the ceiling of the building. This discovery will serve as a warning to others that their warehouses will be discovered and the drugs seized," commander stated.
The Edo Commander of NDLEA who further confirmed that the seizures were made based on intelligence report received by the command, disclosed that the first warehouse is a residential house located behind the Tipper Garage, Egor, Egor Local Government Area where 280 sacks of the dried weeds weighing 4,200kg were found.
The second warehouse, he said was located at Ugwella-Gidi Village in Ovia South West Local Government Area where 245 sacks of dried weeds weighing 1,450kgs were recovered.
During interrogation by newsmen, the suspect, Idemedia admitted knowledge of the exhibits found inside the ceiling of his house.
He said, "A friend of mine kept the cannabis inside the ceiling of my house. The house was built by my son who resides in Europe. He promised to handsomely reward me after selling them."
Idemudia's confession notwithstanding, the NDLEA Commander in Edo has promised to arrest other members connected with the weeds warehouses.
He appealed to members of the public with useful information leading to the recovery of illicit drugs and arrest of traffickers to provide such information to the agency, adding that the suspect will soon be charged to court for prosecution.
All the exhibits were found in two warehouses. The Egor warehouse was hidden inside the ceiling of a bungalow. A 64-yearold grandfather, Daniel Idemudia who resides in the warehouse has been arrested. We were shocked to discover 280 sacks of dried weeds suspected to be cannabis sativa all hidden inside the ceiling of the building