BY TIMOTHY AGBOR, OSOGBO
No fewer than 18 suspected drug dealers and users have been apprehended by the Osun State Command of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency over possession of illicit drugs and consumption of same.
Some teams of the agency had stormed some drug joints in major towns of the state and raided them. The affected towns included Ilesa, Ile-Ife, Iwo, Ila, Ikirun, Ejigbo and Iragbiji.
According to the Public Affairs Officer of the agency, Charles Odigie, the mop-up operation lasted for four days and during one of the encounters with some drug barons at Sabo area in Ilesa, NDLEA operatives were engaged in a gun duel.
Odigie noted that some of the dangerous drugs seized from the suspects included cannabis sativa, tramadol diazepam and other illicit drugs, saying that 14 males and four females were nabbed during the raids.
The agency lamented the worsening rate of drug sales in some parts of the state, adding that some dealers now sell drugs in major markets in the state.
He explained, “The mop up operation for NDLEA Osun State Command lasted for four days, which resulted in the arrest of seventeen (17) persons – 14 males and 3 females. The team encountered some hoodlums at Sabo in Ilesa who engaged the officers in a gun duel.
“Investigation is ongoing as regards the arrested persons who were found with different types of drugs which included cannabis sativa, tramadol diazepam and other dangerous drugs. Of special mention is the sale of hard drugs inside Sabo market and Atakunmosa markets in Ilesa.”
According to Odigie, the state NDLEA Commander, Chidi Nnadi has reiterated his desire to rid the state of drug barons and peddlers, and has also advised them to relocate from Osun as the heat would be too much for them to bear if they fail.
Also, a team of operatives, led by Odigie Charles Efosa, on June 5, 2023, conducted a raid operation at Araromi Oke-Odo in Ife South Local Government Area of the state where a 31-year-old woman, Adewole Abidemi, was arrested with dried weeds suspected to be cannabis sativa, weighing 75kilogram.
Nnadi commended the efforts of his officers and further warned drug barons and peddlers to stop their illegal business or be ready to go to jail.
