The Edo command of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has destroyed substance suspected to be Indian hemp Cannabis Sativa) valued at about N1 billion.
Speaking while destroying the substances, the Edo Commander of the agency, Alhaji Sani Sani, said that the destroyed substances weighed 102 tonnes.
Sani also said that the court cases involving the destroyed substances had been concluded, adding that 480 acres of farmland planted with the weed were destroyed during the planting season.
He said that the exercise underscored the modest achievement recorded by the command and was meant to send a clear signal to the merchants that the command was resolute to rid the state of drugs.
The commander said, “To the merchants of death, we will not falter, we will not rest. We are resolute and determined to run you out of business and out of the forest reserves.
“You have caused untold hardship; destroyed individuals and families, you are the catalyst in the perpetration of crimes.”
He further said that the operation in Edo unlike in many other states was in three fold and would target cultivation, warehousing as well as transportation of the weed.
In his remarks, Alhaji Ahmadu Giade, Chairman and Chief Executive of the NDLEA, said that drugs did not only affect the addict, but spread through families, friends and communities.
Giade represented by Chief Femi Ajayi, Director-General and Secretary of the agency also said that cannabis according to UN Office on Drugs and Crime remained the most widely produced and consumed illicit substance globally.
He, however, said that the struggle to eliminate illicit drugs from the country was making steady progress.
