Exclusive story by Tola Gbadamosi
|
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), has recorded a major haul of 851.027 kilogrammes of psychotropic substances. They are chemical drugs that change brain function and result in alteration in perception, mood, consciousness, cognition or behaviour.

The State Commander of the agency, Haruna Gagara, who disclosed this during a press briefing in his office, said the dangerous drugs were uncovered during phase 1 of its “Operation Ijo Oloogbo” in the state.

He said during an operation at Ipele forest in Owo Local Government area of the state, it also confiscated 30,618 tonnes of cannabis sativa, five hectares of Indian Hemp farm and also recovered three single barrel guns and one pump action gun during the raid.

He said that the psychotropic substances included Tramadol and 93,480 tablets and syrup containing codeine. Others are 8,630 tablets of Rophynol, 80,000 tablets of Benzhexol-5 and 4,800 bottles of Panpedeen cough syrup with codeine.

The NDLEA boss stated that, in preparation for the 2019 general elections, the command is determined to rid Ondo State of hard drugs and send the drug dealers out of the illicit business. He said it is a crucial task that must be done in order to create a safe and violence free environment for the 2019 general elections.

“At the Ipele forest which is the location of Operation Ijo Oloogbo, the exercise led to the arrest of 12 male suspects and seizure of 54 bags of Cannabis Sativa, weighing 627,5 kilogrammes (29.04 tonnes) and 12 bags of Cannabis sativa seeds,  due to inadequate logistics for the evacuation.”

He stated that as part of the effort aimed at creating a drug free society, a total of five suspects were referred for counseling from the Supply Reduction Unit, (SRU). Three drug dependent persons were also admitted for counseling and rehabilitation. “Presently we have eight clients in our counseling and rehabilitation facility.”

The Commander who acknowledged the support and encouragement of the Ondo State Governor, Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu (SAN), in the war against drug abuse, illicit trafficking and cultivation of Cannabis sativa, added that on the just concluded security summit organized by the state government, stakeholders agreed and made a remarkable step towards safe and violence -free elections in Ondo State.