Posted by From Julius Alabi, Akure on
ABOUT 73 persons have been convicted by the Federal High Court, Akure, Ondo State capital, for planting Indian hemp.
ABOUT 73 persons have been convicted by the Federal High Court, Akure, Ondo State capital, for planting Indian hemp.
The state command of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) also arrested 334 persons last year for committing the same offence.
Out of those arrested, 55 had been referred to the Drug Demand Reduction Unit for counselling.
This was disclosed yesterday in Akure by the state Commander of the agency, Alhaji Sani Sani, while destroying the seized cannabis weighing 22,782.254 kilogrammes.
Sani also revealed that Ogbese and Owo communities in the state harboured 102 cannabis farms on 136 hectares of land.
According to Sani, apart from those convicted, others have their cases pending before the court in Akure.
He stressed that 90 per cent of those arrested were not indigenes of Ondo State, adding that they were from neighbouring states and that the police had been complementing efforts of the agency.
"The police have also destroyed several farms especially around Ogbese and Owo and currently, they are in custody of a 40-footer tanker with nothing less than 480 bags of cannabis", he said.
Sani explained that the agency was awaiting the transfer of the cannabis and suspects at the conclusion of the police investigations.
He disclosed that the success recorded by the agency was not without casualties as many of its officers sustained serious injuries in the cause of their duties.
"Several times, we have lost our officers for a day or two in the forest reserves and had to organise a rescue mission. We have also been attacked and mobbed by those merchants of death and our vehicles vandalised", he said.
The NDLEA chief declared that his command vowed that they had remained resolute and committed to the cause of ridding the society of the scourge of dangerous drugs.
The Chief Executive of the agency, Alhaji Bello Lafiaji, said the recent killing of five of his men would not deter the NDLEA from carrying out its operations.
"Let me sound a note of warning to these drug criminals and their sympathisers that recent events have taught the agency a bitter lesson and we shall henceforth not take chances", he said.
Lafiaji stressed that the United Nations General Assembly has adopted the NDLEA-sponsored resolution of the Alternative Development Programme for Indian hemp cultivators that harness farmers who engage in legitimate economic crops would be assisted financially.
However, the state governor, Olusegun Agagu, pleaded with the people of the state to co-operate with the NDLEA in fighting hard drugs because the struggle can not be left to the NDLEA alone.
He also linked the rampant cases of cult-related activities in the higher institutions to the use of hard drugs by students.