Ekiti State Command of Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) has paraded three suspects identified as Agbekeye Ayomide aged 22, Oladimeji Akintomiwa aged 21, Agbeleye Beulah aged 20 and others who specialized in refining and selling substances suspected to be cannabis sativa in Ado Ekiti.
The suspects were arrested at Zone 1 Olorunda Adebayo in Ado Metropolis where they sell the products.
This was revealed in a statement on Thursday by the command’s PPRO, Tolulope Afolabi.
He said the suspects were arrested following a series of complaints by the Olorunda landlords about the activities of drug peddlers in the area.
“Earlier Olorunda Landlords has complained bitterly about the activities of these drug sellers in the areas with a clarion call to the security agencies in the state to rescue them before the Counter Terrorism Unit of the Command swung into action by engaging in covert operations in the area to identify the people behind the illicit trade,” the statement read.
“Upon investigation, the location was mapped and marked which paved way for the arrest of three suspects while other escaped with the assistance of three persons arrested. The arrested persons were believed to be their intermediary as they assist in vending the suspected cannabis sativa while others at large are those refining the substance into chips,”
“Items recovered from them included wrapped substance suspected to be cannabis sativa and other materials that they are using to process the suspected substance into chips.
“The suspects resisted arrest by calling on other smokers and their customers to lay siege on the officers thereby preventing CTU operative from arresting them.
“The situation was managed and the suspects are now assisting the Unit in her investigation to apprehend those that escaped arrest.
“The State Command will send them to where they belong after preliminary investigation to prevent them from turning our productive youths into candidates of rehabilitation homes.”