23rd December, 2010
By Simon Ateba
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, has arrested 50 suspected cannabis dealers in Lagos State, South-West Nigeria, in the last one week.
The NDLEA Head of Public Affairs, Mr. Mitchell Ofoyeju, said this morning that the Lagos State Command of the agency conducted series of raids across the state and seized 322.2 kilogrammes of dried weeds suspected to be cannabis.
In an operation code-named ‘Operation Clean Lagos’, the NDLEA also seized a locally made cannabis compressing machine. “Two major cannabis dealers in the metropolis were among those arrested while others were mainly cannabis users,†Ofoyeju said. Chairman/Chief Executive of the NDLEA, Ahmadu Giade, said that similar operations were taking place in other states.
“This operation is part of efforts towards cleaning the country of illicit drugs. Similar exercise is taking place in other states. Our mission is to create a drug free environment for the festive period,†Giade said.
Lagos State Commander of NDLEA, Mrs. Nnoruka Kenechi, gave the names of the major cannabis dealers arrested during the raid as Nwaso Williams, 42 and Garba Usman, 30.
According to the Commander, “Nwaso is a suspected cannabis dealer believed to be exporting cannabis to neighbouring countries of Benin and Ghana.â€
