NDLEA arrests police officer, seizes 575.5kg of Indian hemp

Category: News Published on Tuesday, 26 February 2013 05:00

Kogi State command of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a police officer, and three others for allegedly being in possession of Indian hemp.

Parading the suspects, the NDLEA commander in the state, Alhaji Idris Bello, said one of the suspects, who is a serving police officer was arrested in a J5 passengers’ bus with a black polythene bag containing 5.1 kg of weeds suspected to be Indian hemp.

Bello said on February 19, the command arrested one Tajudeed Yakubu with 16 block-wraps of the suspected drug concealed in false compartments in a Volkswagen Golf III car with registration number, AU 285 USL.

He added that on February 23, the driver of a Toyota Hiace bus with registration number, KA 702URA, Laide Salau, was arrested with 70 bags and three black polythene bags of Indian hemp.

“He claimed to be a mechanic and that he was called to repair the vehicle. One Yakubu Salau was also caught by the Nigerian Army patrol team and handed over to the NDLEA with six bags of the dried weeds weighing 39.3 kilogrammes. With the 575.5kg seizure, a total of 2,020.701kilogrammes have so far been recovered this year,” he said.

He appealed to the state government and other well-meaning Nigerians to assist the command to check drug abuse, saying lack of office accommodation and operational vehicles is hampering effective operation of the command.