The Chairman/CEO of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Col. Muhammad Mustapha Abdallah (rtd), has decried the upsurge in drug-related crimes in Ondo state.
Col. Abdallah stated this on Monday in Abuja while mourning the death of four officers of the agency killed by suspected drug barons in the state.
A spokesman of the agency, Femi Oloruntoba, quoted Abdallah as saying in a statement that the drug syndicates and barons attacked an NDLEA patrol team in Ondo state killing four officers instantly and burning the patrol van.
“This ugly incident occurred in Ifon, in Ose local government area of Ondo state, during a routine patrol by the team who had vociferously fought against the menace of hard drugs in the state to standstill.
“The organised criminals ambushed the team and snuffed life out of the four gallant officers who fought till death,” Abdallah said.
He lamented what he called the dastardly attack and promised to bring the fleeing perpetrators of the evil acts to book.
He however commiserates with the family of the deceased officers and promised to do everything possible within the reach of the agency to soothe their pains.
It would be recalled that NDLEA have constantly destroyed several cannabis farms in many parts of Ondo state and confiscated hard drugs running into millions of Naira from the barons and syndicates in the state.
In 2017 alone, NDLEA destroyed over 10,000 hectares of cannabis farm in Ogbese areas and this success was quickly followed with the destruction of another 14,000 hectares of cannabis farm and harvested cannabis in their warehouses along the same axis of Ogbese and Ifon areas of the state in 2018.
Abdallah said that the agency decided not to show the pictures of the slain officers to newsmen out of respect for the dead.
“NDLEA would leave no stone untouched in our quest to unravel the motive behind the attacks and bring the attackers to justice as soon as possible,” he added.
