The Ekiti State Command of National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), has crushed no fewer than 3.7 hectares of Hemp farmland at Ire-Ekiti Forest in Oye Local Government Area of Ekiti state.
The agency had apprehended eight suspects, who included a woman suspected to be involved in cultivation of the illegal crop and made a seizure of 1,465kg of substances which were suspected to be Indian Hemp from the farmland.
A Deputy Commander, Operations and Investigation, Mr Kabir Ibrahim and the Principal Staff In-Charge of Operations at the NDLEA in Ekiti state, Mr Isaac Fadare, supervised the team on the operations to Ire-Ekiti on Friday.
Ibrahim
While addressing the newsmen shortly after the operations, Ibrahim said that the agency worked on strategies on plantation of the Hemp in the forest in Ire-Ekiti.
“Acting on pieces of information that there is Cannabis sativa plantation, popularly known as hemp here in Ire-Ekiti forest and that the people have started harvesting,we immediately swung into action.
“I dentified the three farms, recovered 1,465 kg of the substance and arrested eight suspects.
“The farms which are located about 20kilometres aways from the town, spanned over 3.7 hectares of land mass,” he said.
Ibrahim implored members of the communities to effect the cultivation of legitimate crops on their farm plantation which is against planting of Hemp.