Posted by By MOSHOOD ADEBAYO, Abeokuta on
It was the end of the road for a 74-year-old woman and her 34 year old son as they were arrested by the Ogun State Command of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).
It was the end of the road for a 74-year-old woman and her 34 year old son as they were arrested by the Ogun State Command of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).
Mrs. Sikira Salami and her son, Sina were arrested with 80 grammes and 7.2 kilogrammes of Indian hemp respectively.
Parading the suspects in Abeokuta, Ogun State capital, the NDLEA state Commander, Mr. Layi Adekambi said the mother and child operate illicit drug joints at Idomowo, Ijebu-Ode.
In an interview with Daily Sun, Mrs. Salami said she was pushed by the prevailing economic hardship in the country. "I leave everything to God. It is not intentional that I am involved in the trade, but the hardship in the country pushed me".
Adekambi, who lamented that Indian hemp and other narcotics constituted greatest security risk to the country and her citizenry, acknowledged the commitment and dedication to duty of his officers and men, whom he said toiled day and night facing dangers of unimaginable proportion.
He also announced the discovery of an Indian hemp plantation spanning 12 acres at Akura Forest Reserve in Ijebu-Igbo, Ijebu North Local Government Area of the state.
Arrested in connection with the plantation which Adekambi said has been dismantled and burnt were six-Ghanaians, Georgina Mensa, 46, Frank Akwansi, 40, Amessah John, 45, Robert Monday, 30, Collins Yeboa, 37, and John Andoh who is 44 years.
The NDLEA boss said the new twist in the drug situation in the state had transited from being a trafficking route to a place where cannabis sativa also known as 'Indian hemp" was being grown.
Adekambi said the destruction of the Indian hemp farm was the first of its kind since the creation of the state command in October, 2003 and thanked stakeholders, including the state government for co-operating with the agency to fight the illicit business.
Paraded also was Mr. Moruf Sadiq, 20, who was arrested by prisons officials while attempting to smuggle Indian Hemp to an inmate in the prison. The hard drug, according to Adekambi, was concealed in a fish head.
Assessing the activities of his command since the beginning of year, Adekambi said a total of 143 persons had been arrested out of which 121 are males while the remaining 22 are females.
In addition, a total of 307.806 kilogrammes of Indian Hemp were seized including 36 pinches of Cocaine.
Giving statistics on the number of suspects so far prosecuted, Adekambi said 22 persons had been successfully convicted since January while others are at various stages of prosecution.
In area of rehabilitation, he said a good number of arrested persons found to be users, had been rehabilitated. He mentioned a special case of a minor, one Seyi Oluwaseun who was convicted and sentenced to a term of twelve months comprehensive rehabilitation at the young person's remand home at Adigbe area of the Gateway capital.