NDLEA BURNS 35-HECTARE INDIAN HEMP FARM

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) in Ogun State has
set ablaze a 35-hectare farmland cultivated with Indian hemp.

Commander of the agency, Nicholas Salu-Walter told newsmen,
Saturday, in Abeokuta that the plantation was discovered at a border
community between Ogun and Osun states.

According to him, three suspects were also arrested in connection
with the plantation.

"It took my men, numbering 30, about 18 hours, to cut down the hemp
trunks and burn the weeds," he said.

Nicholas said that the discovery was a major achievement by his
command in the task of ridding the society of hard drugs.

He warned village heads in the rural areas of the state against
giving farmlands to people who engage in the cultivation of Indian
hemp, otherwise they would also be treated as offenders.

He said the agency would intensify its campaign against illicit
drugs to reduce the number of those engaged in consumption and
trafficking of hard drugs.

"We will mount elaborate public enlightenment campaigns, in
collaboration with the National Orientation Agency (NOA), Federal
Road Safety Commission (FRSC), the State Security Service
(SSS), the police, civil defence and other agencies that
have intelligence units.

"With the right education, and cutting the routes of production and
trafficking in hard drugs, we would have nipped in the bud, the
dangers inherent in hard drugs," he said.

He added that the best way to ensure a safe society was to keep hard
drugs off the streets.