Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) successfully repelled an armed attack by hoodlums in Opuje community, situated in the Owan West Local Government Area of Edo State. The assailants aimed to block NDLEA operatives’ access to forest warehouses containing a substantial quantity of processed psychoactive substances slated for nationwide distribution ahead of the Christmas and New Year season.
NDLEA Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, disclosed in a statement on Thursday that the hoodlums strategically blocked all roads leading to the community, intending to obstruct the NDLEA’s efforts to reach the forest warehouses.
During the attack, three NDLEA officers sustained injuries, with one officer shot in the head. Some of the vehicles used in the operation were also riddled with bullets. The injured officers were promptly rushed to the hospital for treatment, and one of them underwent major surgery to remove bullets lodged in his brain.
This incident occurred almost a year after armed youths, allegedly recruited by drug barons, ambushed NDLEA officers who had raided the community in January 2023, uncovering warehouses and tents storing over 317,417 kilograms of cannabis sativa.
Acting on credible intelligence that drug cartels had restocked their warehouses for the upcoming festive season, NDLEA teams had been mobilized to destroy these illicit drug storage facilities. In a prior operation, the NDLEA successfully dismantled warehouses containing approximately 6,000 kilograms of cannabis in Ujiogba forest in Esan West Local Government Area.
NDLEA operatives faced gunfire attacks when approaching the Opuje forest on December 4. After a prolonged two-hour gun battle with the armed hoodlums, the operatives managed to exit the area safely.
Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retd), strongly condemned the attack and warned those sponsoring such assaults on NDLEA operatives. Marwa asserted that the perpetrators would face the full force of the law, and their criminal activities would be terminated.
