The Ujiogba Forest Reserve in Esan West LGA of Edo State was invaded by agents of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), who destroyed 7,286 kilograms (72.86 tons) of stored skunk and five hectares of its planting.
According to a statement made on Thursday by Mr. Femi Babafemi, Director of Media and Advocacy for the NDLEA, the special operation that was conducted on Wednesday was in response to reliable information that some cartels had stored hundreds of jumbo bags of the illegal substance inside the dense forest of the reserve in order to distribute it to some states prior to the general elections.
But, the operation could not begin right away until a number of road obstacles erected by the drug lords’ armed guards were removed and they were defeated in a gunfight by the superior firepower of Agency Strike Force officers, according to Babafemi.
During the initial resistance, two rifles, short gun expended rounds, and an empty AK-47 round were found, and a suspect, Calvary Essien, 24, was detained.
A large warehouse made of wood and zinc, containing 100 jumbo bags of cannabis sativa weighing 3.2 tons, 5,000 bags of cannabis weighing 65 tons, and 137 bags of cannabis seeds weighing 4.66 tons, totaling 72.86 tons, was successfully raided by NDLEA agents after the gunfight, according to the statement.
Following that, seven bags of marijuana and one bag of its seeds were removed from the warehouse for additional examination and suspect prosecution, with the remaining material being burnt on fire.
Following a similar operation on January 18 in the Opuje forest in the state’s Owan West Local Government Area, huge warehouses and tents containing more than 317,417 kilos (317.4 metric tons) of the psychoactive substance were burnt and set on fire over the course of two days.
At least three people—Aigberuan Jacob, Ekeinde Anthony Zaza, and Naomi Patience Ohiewere—were detained in connection with the drugs, including a police impostor, Omoruan Theophilus, who was parading as a Police Inspector to transport the drugs from the woodlands to the towns.
Brig-Gen. Mohamed Marwa (Rtd), Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, praised the nearly 10,000 officers, men and women, deployed across the nation in the pre-election renewed offensive action to clear every part of the country of illicit substances for use by thugs and miscreants before, during, and after the elections. He made this statement in response to the most recent operation in the Ujiogba forest.
To address the drug supply threat at its source, according to the head of NDLEA, and to effectively convey to the barons that there is no safe haven for them and their investments anywhere in Nigeria, the struggle must be brought to the doorsteps of the cartels operating deep within the forests.
