The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Edo Command, has intercepted 53,520.80kg of assorted illicit drugs with a street value of over N777 million in the first half of 2025.
The NDLEA Commander in Edo, Mitchell Ofoyeju, disclosed this on Monday in Benin at a media briefing to mark the 2025 International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking.
Ofoyeju said the operatives of the command also arrested 28-year-old Esther Abumere, a 300-level student of Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, who was found in possession of illicit drugs.
The commander said the suspect operated a supermarket in Ekpoma, a university environment, as a cover to peddle narcotics.
“Her arrest is a strong warning to drug barons that, notwithstanding the disguise, they will be smoked out.
“We have a responsibility under the law to protect every citizen through comprehensive drug supply control and prevention interventions,” the commander stated.
He said the drugs found in her possession included 31g of Colorado, a strong synthetic variant of cannabis, 763g of Canadian loud, another strong variant of cannabis, as well as different grammes of Tramadol capsules.
He said other drugs found in the supermarket were 146 tablets of Swinol 56g, 93 tablets of Rohypnol 30g and 56 tablets of Molly 25g.
Ofoyeju said that during interrogation the suspect claimed to have ventured into the drugs business to offset the loan obtained from a microfinance bank.
The narcotics commander said that the agency also destroyed 18 cannabis farms in the state and secured 24 convictions within the reporting period.
He said the command provided brief counselling interventions to 194 clients and rehabilitated 19 individuals battling drug use disorders, in line with the agency’s mandate.
Ofoyeju urged the public to support the agency by reporting suspicious drug-related activities, attributing the pervasive crimes like cultism and kidnapping to drugs abuse.
“These enemies of the state can run but cannot hide.
“We will catch them, seize their drugs, trace their illicit wealth, and prosecute them,” he said.
