The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Ondo State Command, said that it had arrested five suspects dealing in illicit drugs and seized 1, 292 kilograms of cannabis sativa, otherwise called marijuana, and its seeds.
Mr Haruna Gagara, the State Commander, disclosed this in a statement made available to newsmen in Abuja on Friday.
According to him, 711.5kg of cannabis seeds were recovered from a forest in Ago Oyibo area of Ogbese, Akure North Local Government Area.
Gagara said that the seizure had thwarted the mass cultivation of an estimated 250 hectares of cannabis sativa farmland in Ondo state.
“This large cultivation, if allowed, would produce an estimated 443,000 kilograms of cannabis,” he said.
The commander said that some officers of NDLEA stormed the forest on Feb. 18, following a tip-off.
Gagara also said that the operatives had earlier intercepted a vehicle loaded of 580.5kg of the illicit drug along Ogbese-Owo Road, that was heading to Kano State.
“Let me seize this opportunity to warn those who indulge in the illicit cultivation and trafficking of cannabis sativa in the state to desist from doing so, as there will be no hiding place for them because the Command is poised to fish them out,” he said.
