Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested three teenagers found with locally fabricated AK-47 rifles and destroyed a 5,000-kilogram cannabis plantation in separate operations across several states as part of an intensified nationwide crackdown on drug trafficking and related crimes.
The agency’s spokesman, Femi Babafemi, disclosed this in a statement on Sunday, saying the operations also led to multiple arrests and the seizure of large quantities of illicit drugs in Niger, Gombe, Imo and Ondo states.
According to him, three suspects — Bashir Usman, 20, Abubakar Nuhu, 18, and Abdulrahman Abdulwahab, 18 — were intercepted along the Abuja-Kaduna Expressway at Chachi in Tafa Local Government Area of Niger State.
Babafemi said NDLEA operatives recovered two locally fabricated AK-47 rifles with a magazine, one locally made pistol with a magazine, and nine rounds of 9mm ammunition concealed inside a travel bag.
In Gombe State, the agency arrested Sabi’u Umar, 27, and Hassana Muhammad, 19, in separate operations that resulted in the recovery of 154,480 capsules of tramadol.
Similarly, officers on patrol along the Owerri-Onitsha Road in Imo State arrested 25-year-old Ifesinachi Godwin with 43.85 kilograms of skunk.
In Ondo State, NDLEA operatives stormed a cannabis plantation hidden inside the Ita-Ogbolu forest, where they destroyed 5,000 kilograms of skunk cultivated on a two-hectare farmland.
Four suspects — Blessing Effiong, Saviour Peter, David Friday Sunday and Ability Peter Sunday — were arrested during the operation, while 48 kilograms of fresh and dry cannabis were recovered for prosecution.
Beyond enforcement activities, the agency said it sustained its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) campaign through sensitisation programmes in schools, workplaces and communities across the country.
During the week, NDLEA officers conducted drug abuse awareness campaigns for students and staff of St. Ferdinand School, Ogbomoso, Oyo State; Unizik Secondary School, Awka, Anambra State; Scholars Nursery and Primary School, Epe, Lagos State; and Government Technical Training School, Jalingo, Taraba State.
The agency’s Delta Ports Command also paid an advocacy visit to His Royal Majesty, King Couple Mackson Oromoni Mobene III, Pere Ama-Okosu of Ogbe-Ijoh Warri Kingdom, to strengthen community support for the fight against drug abuse.
Commending officers and men of the Lagos, Tin-Can Port, Edo, Niger, Delta, Ondo, Gombe, Imo and FCT Commands, NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig.-Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd), praised their commitment to the agency’s dual strategy of reducing drug supply while promoting public enlightenment.
He urged the operatives to remain focused on the agency’s mandate, stressing that combining enforcement with preventive education remains key to tackling drug abuse and trafficking across Nigeria.