NDLEA intercepts 200kg cannabis in false compartment

 The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Edo State Command, has intercepted a shipment of dried weeds suspected to be cannabis sativa at Ehor, Edo State.

NDLEA, Principal Staff Officer Public Affairs, Edo State, Mr Ofoyeju Mitchell, disclosed that the drugs were packed in 20 bags,                                                                                 weighing 200kg.

Mitchell said that the drugs were ingeniously concealed in a false compartment lined on the inside wall of a dark blue Volkswagen Bus with Anambra State registration number ACA 711 XT.  The driver of the bus has been arrested in connection with the seized drugs. The driver has been identified Ojuneme Festus 41, living in Oluku road, Benin City. Ojuneme is married with four children and hails from Ndokwa East Local Government Area of Delta State.

Mitchell said: “A preliminary investigation conducted by the command revealed that the illicit drugs were being conveyed from Iruekpen in Edo State to Uko-Orji in Imo State. The bus driver is assisting investigating narcotic officers handling the case in their investigations.”

Ojuneme said that he has been driving for 15 years, but recently began to smuggle cannabis because of lack of a stable job.

His words: "I have been driving for the past 15 years. However, in the past two years, I have been out of a steady employment. It was in the process of looking for food for my family that I accepted to smuggle cannabis. Shortly after I took off, my bus was stopped at Ehor by NDLEA officers on patrol. The drug was well hidden, but I was surprised when the officers discovered the drugs in a false compartment."

NDLEA Edo State Commander, Mr Wakawa Buba, while confirming the arrest and seizure, commended the officers for detecting the drug despite the clever way it was concealed.

Buba said: "This is a very interesting seizure because ordinarily, it is difficult to detect the drugs considering the manner it was hidden. The bus was empty as it were, but it took the superior techniques and experience of the officers to disable the stratagem employed by the drug trafficking cartel. The 20 bags of cannabis were concealed in a false compartment on the inside walls of the bus.”

The commander warned that drug trafficking cartels shall not go unpunished as the command was working assiduously to detect drugs and apprehend offenders within the state.