Tony Osauzo, Benin-City
The Edo State Command of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has launched an onslaught against drug cartels, leading to the discovery of two warehouses in the state and the arrest of a 64-year-old suspect, identified as Daniel Idemudia.
A total of 5,650kgs of dried weeds suspected to be Cannabis Sativa (Marijuana) were found in the warehouses. The first warehouse contained 4,200kgs of Cannabis while the second warehouse contained 1,45kgs of Cannabis.
The major seizure is coming barely few weeks after the Command publicly destroyed 136,844 kilograms of various narcotic drugs, mainly Cannabis.
According to the State Commander of NDLEA, Buba Wakawa, the seizures were made based on intelligence report received by the Command.
He said that the first warehouse is a residential house located behind Tipper Garage, Egor, in Egor Local Government Area, where 280 sacks of the dried weeds weighing 4,200kg were found, while the second warehouse was located at Ugwella-Gidi village, Ovia South West Local Government Area, where 145 sacks of same banned substance weighing 1,450kgs were recovered.
Wakawa said that all the exhibits at the Egor warehouse were hidden inside the ceiling of a bungalow, where the sixty-four-year-old grandfather, Daniel Idemudia, resides.
“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”, the Commander warned.
The suspect, Idemedia, admitted knowledge of the exhibits found inside ceiling in his house.
“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 the drugs,” Idemudia was quoted to have said.
Meanwhile, the NDLEA Commander has promised to arrest other members connected with the warehouses and appealed to members of the public with useful information leading to the recovery of drugs and arrest of traffickers to provide such information to the agency.
He said the suspect would soon be charged to court.