No fewer than 49 suspected drug traffickers were arrested in July 2026 by the Edo State Command of the National Drugs Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA.
This was disclosed by the NDLEA Commandant in Edo State, Dr Mitchell Ofoyeju, on Thursday in Benin City, during the decoration of 73 operatives promoted to new ranks.
Ofoyeju said the arrested suspects were made up of 29 females and 20 males.
He said the increasing number of women involved in drug-related crimes was worrying, reflecting a change in women’s socio-economic vulnerability and the collapse of traditional family stability.
He said three warehouses were discovered and raided in the state during the period under review.
According to him, two of the warehouses were located in Benin City and one at Illushi, while two vehicles, a Toyota Sienna with registration number Ondo NND 975 AG and a Toyota Camry with registration number Edo BEN 503 BK, used in transporting cannabis were also intercepted.
“The NDLEA commandant said cannabis topped the seizure list with 2,588.4 kilograms, psychotropic substances 6.13 kilograms, cocaine 0.071 kg, heroin 0.005 kg and methamphetamine 1.68 kg.
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“Also the command seized 15.3 litres of codeine cough syrup and 10 cylinders of nitrous oxide, also known as laughing gas. The range of these different narcotics highlighted the wide-ranging nature of substances being trafficked and abused in the state.”
In a bid to wipe out drug manufacturing, the command also destroyed one cannabis farm in the Egbisi forest of Abudu, Orhionmwon Local Government Area, Ofoyeju said.
He said the destruction was a big victory for the NDLEA in the efforts to check drug production operations in Edo State.
The command’s efforts have not gone unnoticed with four high-profile drug cases resulting in convictions this month.
“Besides, in its effort to combat drug abuse, it counselled 24 persons with drug use problems and reunited them with their family members,” he added.
Ofoyeju said the prosecution of suspects and the counselling were a demonstration of the agency’s holistic approach to addressing drug-related issues in the community.
