Drug officials impounded six vehicles carrying 1,687 kilos of cannabis in a massive shipment that was planned to take advantage of the the chaos created by coronavirus outbreak in Edo state.
National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) impounded the vehicle at agenebode in Etsako West local government of the state.
NDLEA commander in the state, Buba Wakawa said the operation was carried out by the Auchi Area Command of the agency based on intelligence report.
He said the estimated street value of the seized drugs was N25 million, while that of the six vehicles is N10 million, bringing the the total losses suffered by the cartel to N35 million.
Wakawa said the drivers of the vehicles managed to escape leaving behind their vehicles and drugs.
Efforts are ongoing to apprehend members of the cartel.
According to him, preliminary investigation had revealed that the cartel targeted the emergency created by the coronavirus epidemic for a massive shipment of drugs but the command swiftly nipped their nefarious plan in the bud.
“Edo State is notorious for the cultivation of Cannabis; therefore as drug control managers we have adopted both primary and secondary strategies to check this criminal act. We do this by tracing and destroying cannabis farms as well as intercepting harvested and processed Cannabis before it gets to the final consumers,” he said.
He said the drugs and the vehicles would be forfeited to the federal government, noting that Section 32 sub-section (C) of the NDLEA Act on asset forfeiture states that all seized items shall be forfeited.
“The law also recognizes the seizure of drugs and forfeiture of assets as forms of punishment aimed at incapacitating drug trafficking syndicates financially,” he noted.
Join Daily Trust WhatsApp Community For Quick Access To News and Happenings Around You.
