No fewer than 49 suspected drug traffickers were arrested in July 2026 by the Edo State Command of the National Drugs Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA.
Dr Mitchell Ofoyeju, the NDLEA Commandant in Edo State, disclosed this on Thursday in Benin City during the decoration of 73 operatives promoted to new ranks.
The arrested suspects include 29 females and 20 males, Ofoyeju said.
He expressed concern over the growing number of women in drug-related crimes, saying it was indicative of a shift in women’s socio-economic vulnerability and the disintegration of traditional family stability.
He said that three warehouses were discovered and raided in the state during the period under review.
According to him, two of the warehouses were located in Benin City and one at Illushi, while two vehicles, a Toyota Sienna with registration number Ondo NND 975 AG and a Toyota Camry with registration number Edo BEN 503 BK, used in transporting cannabis were also intercepted.
The NDLEA commandant said cannabis topped the seizure list with 2,588.4 kilograms, psychotropic substances 6.13 kilograms, cocaine 0.071 kg, heroin 0.005 kg and methamphetamine 1.68 kg.
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“Also the command recovered 15.3 litres of codeine cough syrup and 10 cylinders of nitrous oxide, also called laughing gas. The variety of these different narcotics highlighted the wide-ranging nature of substances being trafficked and abused within the state.”
In a bid to wipe out drug manufacturing, the command also destroyed one cannabis farm in the Egbisi forest of Abudu, Orhionmwon Local Government Area, Ofoyeju said.
He said the destruction was a major victory for the NDLEA in its efforts to check drug production operations in Edo State.
The command’s efforts have not gone unnoticed as it successfully secured convictions in four high-profile drug cases during the month.
“Besides, in its fight against drug abuse, it counselled 24 persons with drug use problems and reunited them with their family members”, he added.
Ofoyeju said that the prosecution of suspects and the counselling were a demonstration of the agency’s holistic approach to addressing drug-related issues in the community.