INSIDE DRUG BARONS DEN POLICE, NDLEA OPERATIVES DARE NOT ENTERR

* Our battles with them - Agency Commander

*'How dealers beheaded pregnant law enforcement agent'

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.

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.

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.