In the Owan West Local Government Area of Edo State, operatives from the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) successfully fended off an assault by armed hoodlums in the Opuje community.
The attackers had strategically barricaded all access roads, intending to impede the NDLEA’s efforts to reach forest warehouses.
These warehouses were identified as holding a substantial quantity of processed psychoactive substances, intended for widespread distribution in anticipation of the upcoming Christmas and New Year season.
The NDLEA Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, conveyed this information in a statement released to the media on Thursday.
During the confrontation, three NDLEA officers sustained injuries, with one of them being shot in the head. Additionally, several vehicles used in the operation bore bullet holes, reflecting the intensity of the attack.
“The affected officers were rushed to the hospital for treatment while the critically injured one had a major surgery on Wednesday, December 6, to remove the bullets in his brain,” he noted
He said this is coming barely 11 months after armed youths recruited by drug barons ambushed NDLEA officers who stormed the community to destroy warehouses and tents storing over 317,417 kilograms (317.4 metric tons) of cannabis sativa on Wednesday 18th January 2023.
“Following credible intelligence that the drug cartels had again stocked their warehouses in the forest to start distribution of the psychoactive substance to various parts of the country ahead of the yuletide season, teams of NDLEA officers were mobilized to enter the Edo forests and block the distribution of the illicit drug by destroying their warehouses. Some of the warehouses containing about 6,000kgs of cannabis were first taken down in Ujiogba forest in Esan West LGA last weekend.
“The NDLEA teams however came under gunfire attack in the early hours of Monday 4th December when they approached the Opuje forest after the armed hoodlums had blocked all access roads in the community. The NDLEA operatives were able to exit the area after over two hours of gun fight with the armed hoodlums.”
In his reaction to the attack, Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of the Agency, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retd) warned that those sponsoring attacks on the operatives would know no rest until they were all brought before the law to face the consequences of their action and their criminal trade terminated.
