A 49-year-old suspected drug baron and cannabis cultivator identified as Alaba Monday, who had been on the wanted list of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, since 2023 has been arrested by the Edo State Command.
The NDLEA State Commander, Mitchell Ofoyeju, said the suspect was apprehended inside one of the farms, where eleven bags of processed cannabis weighing 115 kg were seized.
Ofoyeju disclosed this in a statement made available to newsmen in Benin City while presenting the command’s scorecard for the month of July 2025.
He said the suspect who hails from Owan West local government area of the state was among the arrested 46 suspects in the state in the period under review.
He also disclosed that a 20-year-old, Prosper Titus and 21- year-old, Joshua Paul from Gboko and Ovia North-East Local Government Areas of Benue and Edo States, respectively, were arrested with Loud.
He also added that a 23- year-old Agu Emmanuel and 28-year-old Andy Obioma from Kachia and Kana Local Government Areas of Kaduna and Rivers States were also arrested with Loud.
Ofoyeju further disclosed the arrest of a 26-year-old one Izunna Nwankwo from Ishielu local government area of Ebonyi State.
He said the suspect was arrested along the Benin-Auchi Road with assorted psychotropic drugs, including 15,400 capsules of tramadol, 200 tablets of swinol, 357 tablets of molly and 54 bottles of codeine cough syrup.
“A 40 years old, one Yusuf Isuku who hails from Etsako West Local Government Area of the state was arrested along Warake Road, Auchi, with 22 parcels of skunk, a strong variant of cannabis, weighing 10.265 kg.
“The drug was hidden inside garri in black bacco bags.
“Also arrested was a 48-year-old, Josiah Friday, who hails from the Akoko Edo area of the state.
“He was apprehended along Igara-Auchi Road in Igara with five bags of cannabis weighing 36 kg hidden inside black polythene.
“Similarly, some of the drug dealers arrested along the notorious Ihama Road, GRA Benin City, include Emmanuel Onaji, 29 years old, from Ogbadibo local government area of Benue State.He was caught with molly”, he said.
The NDLEA Commander who reaffirmed the commitment of the Edo State Command to continue its efforts against drug trafficking, vowed to prosecute those arrested and dismantle drug cartels that threaten the state’s welfare.
