FruityBud
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Jun 21, 2007
- Messages
- 2,294
- Reaction score
- 3,399
The business of cannabis in Edo State is a very lucrative one, particularly for farmers in Edo North Senatorial District. The soil in the area is very fertile for the growth of the illegal drug general known as Indian hemp. The war against drug dealers in the state has not been an easy one for men of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).
There are areas in Edo North where the law enforcement agents would dare not to invade. However, they track the barons in the night when they convey the drugs to Abuja or Lagos where they make more money from the illegal business.
Indian hemp packages...hot cakes
Though the NDLEA commander in the state, Mr Okey Ihebom, who confessed to Sunday Vanguard in an interview that the war against the illegal drug has not been easy, he narrated that after harvesting the Indian hemp in the farms, the dealers transport them first of all to a town (name withheld) in Delta State, where he described as no go area for any law enforcement officer because the youths in the area are well armed to protect the dealers.
When Sunday Vanguard visited the premises of the NDLEA in Edo State, last Thursday, it was observed that what was more worrisome to members of the agency was the use of government owned vehicles to convey this illegal drug to their destinations.
Sunday Vanguard observed over fifty assorted vehicles at the premises of the NDLEA. And even though the bags of the seized Indian hemp are being destroyed every month, there were over ten thousand bags still at the warehouse of the NDLEA. Sunday Vanguard was told that the trade is so lucrative that it became difficult for the dealers to quit.
A bag is sold for N10,000-N15,000 in Edo State but it is sold for as much as N50,000-N100,000 in Maiduguri, Abuja and even Lagos. And worried by the situation, the state governor, Professor Oserheimen Osunbor, has promised to give loans to Indian hemp farmers in the state to change their focus from farming on the illicit drug to cassava. Over five operatives of the NDLEA in the state have lost their lives in the past two years because of the hostile attitude of the dealers. They are well armed and can engage the law enforcement agents in gun duel. Sunday Vanguard spoke to the state commander of the NDLEA, and one of the suspects in the cell and it was quite revealing.
MR Okey Ihebom (MFR), Edo State commander of the NDLEA, narrates how the cabal operates. Let me give you the little story about cannabis. Indian hemp is not a native of Nigeria, it entered during the second world war through one man, his name is Egba from Delta State. He brought it, they planted it and people started using it. That is where it started spreading. And anywhere they plant Indian hemp in this country, the people at the fore front are the people from this Delta community. We are close to their harvest season now.
Edo NDLEA sector commander, Okey Ihebom
By the end of the month, they will start to harvest; after harvesting, they will transport it back to its origin, that is the Delta community. They believe that nobody can enter there. Soldiers do not enter there, police and the NDLEA also do not enter the community. They are very violent people, they believe nobody can enter the town but I am convinced people can enter there. If they succeed in carrying the Indian hemp to that town, from there, they can be carrying it in bits to Abuja and Lagos to market. They can wait until the price rises.
In this area now, a bag can cost between N10,000-N15,000 but if it gets to Lagos, it is about N70,000. If it gets to Maiduguri and Abuja, it is N100,000 for a bag. There are some of them who have stores, they can keep it till when the prices go up.
Supply and demand
It is like the law of supply and demand, and they wait until demand increases, then the price will also increase. They have warehouses where they store them but since last year we have really disturbed them in Edo State . They do not farm here much again. They have moved to the neigbouring states like Ekiti, Ondo, Oyo, Osun.
But I know that they are going to dislodge them there very soon. And some people here, the governor promised that he is going to give them money because we are planning this crop substitution. This is because if you tell them to stop farming Indian hemp, you have to provide alternative farming. But the governor has promised to give them loan so that they will start farming cassava, maize, rice and beans which most of the farmers have shown interest and we are working on that.
Our challenges in fighting drug barons?
We have lost some our men in the cause of duty in this state. Before I came here, four officers were killed at Ulishin in Ubiaja, including the commander, a woman. Her name is Christy Ofor, she led that team to the place but they were over powered. The woman was beheaded, her body chopped to pieces and thrown into the River Niger.
She was pregnant that time and they removed the baby and chopped the baby into pieces too. But when I came, I looked for the man that committed the wicked act. He has been arrested. He has two charges now, that murder charge and another for cannabis. We arrested him and handed him over to the police.
The police started prosecuting him, he was granted bail for murder at the Ubiaja High Court. So the man was still misbehaving, the governor was not happy about it. But, luckily for us, we arrested the man again for cannabis, so we quickly took him to the Federal High Court and charged him with cannabis possession.
We caught him with about 90 bags, so the judge refused to grant him bail, saying he is going to accelerate the case because there is already a murder case against him. The judge said the suspect was not even remorseful as he went and engaged himself in another offence. So I thank God for that judge. The baron even went on appeal but the court still refused to grant him bail.
Are you satisfied with the decision of the judges who try these people?
Their decisions sometimes can be very annoying and frustrating too. It can be demoralizing. Some of our officers sleep in the bush two or three days to execute an operation. It takes two or three weeks to plan an operation. You monitor a particular person for about one month to make sure that you arrest him with Indian hemp, and when you arrest him, he comes to the court but the case is thrown out for one technical reason or the other.
Often times the judges complain that the exhibits were destroyed but they forget that we cannot destroy any exhibit without the authorization of the court, it is the same court that will authorize us to destroy these exhibits.
But what is the rate in Edo State now?
Edo State used to be a haven for these people but now it is hell for them now. They have moved out. You know this place is like a transit, a center point, from wherever they got the Indian hemp and they want to carry it to Delta, they have to pass through Edo State. And if they are carrying it out of Delta State they have to pass through Edo State again. So Edo is the centre but we are succeeding.
'I didn't know I was carrying Indian Hemp in my car'
Aliu, one of the suspects told Sunday Vanguard that he never knew that a woman loaded Indian hemp in his vehicle while he was asleep. He narrated how he got himself into the mess.
Where are you from?
From Nasarawa State.I do not know any thing about this thing. I carried a load to Enugu, so one of our Hausa brothers said he had pineapple that he wanted me to carry for him. But when I got there he complained that the woman he was supposed to buy the pineapple from had sold them. So I left the place and entered the market. I parked my vehicle along the road there. But as I was coming out, I saw a woman sitting on my vehicle.
When I opened the vehicle door, she asked if I was the person that parked the vehicle, I said yes. She said she had luggage for me to carry, I now told my brother that we were lucky, that instead of going home with empty vehicle, we would carry the load.
So we started pricing. I told her to pay N30,000 (he broke down and started crying). She was still begging but I told her to pay N25,000 last or else I will go home empty. She refused but, as I was about leaving, she called me back and gave me N2,000 advance. So, at night, after we finished praying, I slept off, she showed me some plantain, that it was what I was going to carry, that somebody was going to bring the remaining load. I even had to borrow her some money to give to the pick up she sent to go and bring the remaining load for her. But while I was sleeping they loaded every thing inside my vehicle. I only saw plantain inside, I never knew they loaded Indian hemp inside.
hxxp://tinyurl.com/56zupd
There are areas in Edo North where the law enforcement agents would dare not to invade. However, they track the barons in the night when they convey the drugs to Abuja or Lagos where they make more money from the illegal business.
Indian hemp packages...hot cakes
Though the NDLEA commander in the state, Mr Okey Ihebom, who confessed to Sunday Vanguard in an interview that the war against the illegal drug has not been easy, he narrated that after harvesting the Indian hemp in the farms, the dealers transport them first of all to a town (name withheld) in Delta State, where he described as no go area for any law enforcement officer because the youths in the area are well armed to protect the dealers.
When Sunday Vanguard visited the premises of the NDLEA in Edo State, last Thursday, it was observed that what was more worrisome to members of the agency was the use of government owned vehicles to convey this illegal drug to their destinations.
Sunday Vanguard observed over fifty assorted vehicles at the premises of the NDLEA. And even though the bags of the seized Indian hemp are being destroyed every month, there were over ten thousand bags still at the warehouse of the NDLEA. Sunday Vanguard was told that the trade is so lucrative that it became difficult for the dealers to quit.
A bag is sold for N10,000-N15,000 in Edo State but it is sold for as much as N50,000-N100,000 in Maiduguri, Abuja and even Lagos. And worried by the situation, the state governor, Professor Oserheimen Osunbor, has promised to give loans to Indian hemp farmers in the state to change their focus from farming on the illicit drug to cassava. Over five operatives of the NDLEA in the state have lost their lives in the past two years because of the hostile attitude of the dealers. They are well armed and can engage the law enforcement agents in gun duel. Sunday Vanguard spoke to the state commander of the NDLEA, and one of the suspects in the cell and it was quite revealing.
MR Okey Ihebom (MFR), Edo State commander of the NDLEA, narrates how the cabal operates. Let me give you the little story about cannabis. Indian hemp is not a native of Nigeria, it entered during the second world war through one man, his name is Egba from Delta State. He brought it, they planted it and people started using it. That is where it started spreading. And anywhere they plant Indian hemp in this country, the people at the fore front are the people from this Delta community. We are close to their harvest season now.
Edo NDLEA sector commander, Okey Ihebom
By the end of the month, they will start to harvest; after harvesting, they will transport it back to its origin, that is the Delta community. They believe that nobody can enter there. Soldiers do not enter there, police and the NDLEA also do not enter the community. They are very violent people, they believe nobody can enter the town but I am convinced people can enter there. If they succeed in carrying the Indian hemp to that town, from there, they can be carrying it in bits to Abuja and Lagos to market. They can wait until the price rises.
In this area now, a bag can cost between N10,000-N15,000 but if it gets to Lagos, it is about N70,000. If it gets to Maiduguri and Abuja, it is N100,000 for a bag. There are some of them who have stores, they can keep it till when the prices go up.
Supply and demand
It is like the law of supply and demand, and they wait until demand increases, then the price will also increase. They have warehouses where they store them but since last year we have really disturbed them in Edo State . They do not farm here much again. They have moved to the neigbouring states like Ekiti, Ondo, Oyo, Osun.
But I know that they are going to dislodge them there very soon. And some people here, the governor promised that he is going to give them money because we are planning this crop substitution. This is because if you tell them to stop farming Indian hemp, you have to provide alternative farming. But the governor has promised to give them loan so that they will start farming cassava, maize, rice and beans which most of the farmers have shown interest and we are working on that.
Our challenges in fighting drug barons?
We have lost some our men in the cause of duty in this state. Before I came here, four officers were killed at Ulishin in Ubiaja, including the commander, a woman. Her name is Christy Ofor, she led that team to the place but they were over powered. The woman was beheaded, her body chopped to pieces and thrown into the River Niger.
She was pregnant that time and they removed the baby and chopped the baby into pieces too. But when I came, I looked for the man that committed the wicked act. He has been arrested. He has two charges now, that murder charge and another for cannabis. We arrested him and handed him over to the police.
The police started prosecuting him, he was granted bail for murder at the Ubiaja High Court. So the man was still misbehaving, the governor was not happy about it. But, luckily for us, we arrested the man again for cannabis, so we quickly took him to the Federal High Court and charged him with cannabis possession.
We caught him with about 90 bags, so the judge refused to grant him bail, saying he is going to accelerate the case because there is already a murder case against him. The judge said the suspect was not even remorseful as he went and engaged himself in another offence. So I thank God for that judge. The baron even went on appeal but the court still refused to grant him bail.
Are you satisfied with the decision of the judges who try these people?
Their decisions sometimes can be very annoying and frustrating too. It can be demoralizing. Some of our officers sleep in the bush two or three days to execute an operation. It takes two or three weeks to plan an operation. You monitor a particular person for about one month to make sure that you arrest him with Indian hemp, and when you arrest him, he comes to the court but the case is thrown out for one technical reason or the other.
Often times the judges complain that the exhibits were destroyed but they forget that we cannot destroy any exhibit without the authorization of the court, it is the same court that will authorize us to destroy these exhibits.
But what is the rate in Edo State now?
Edo State used to be a haven for these people but now it is hell for them now. They have moved out. You know this place is like a transit, a center point, from wherever they got the Indian hemp and they want to carry it to Delta, they have to pass through Edo State. And if they are carrying it out of Delta State they have to pass through Edo State again. So Edo is the centre but we are succeeding.
'I didn't know I was carrying Indian Hemp in my car'
Aliu, one of the suspects told Sunday Vanguard that he never knew that a woman loaded Indian hemp in his vehicle while he was asleep. He narrated how he got himself into the mess.
Where are you from?
From Nasarawa State.I do not know any thing about this thing. I carried a load to Enugu, so one of our Hausa brothers said he had pineapple that he wanted me to carry for him. But when I got there he complained that the woman he was supposed to buy the pineapple from had sold them. So I left the place and entered the market. I parked my vehicle along the road there. But as I was coming out, I saw a woman sitting on my vehicle.
When I opened the vehicle door, she asked if I was the person that parked the vehicle, I said yes. She said she had luggage for me to carry, I now told my brother that we were lucky, that instead of going home with empty vehicle, we would carry the load.
So we started pricing. I told her to pay N30,000 (he broke down and started crying). She was still begging but I told her to pay N25,000 last or else I will go home empty. She refused but, as I was about leaving, she called me back and gave me N2,000 advance. So, at night, after we finished praying, I slept off, she showed me some plantain, that it was what I was going to carry, that somebody was going to bring the remaining load. I even had to borrow her some money to give to the pick up she sent to go and bring the remaining load for her. But while I was sleeping they loaded every thing inside my vehicle. I only saw plantain inside, I never knew they loaded Indian hemp inside.
hxxp://tinyurl.com/56zupd
