The Anambra State Police Command has arrested a 43-year-old man, Patrick Ojele, who allegedly disguised himself as mentally unstable while secretly cultivating a cannabis farm in Awka, the state capital.
Police spokesman, DSP Tochukwu Ikenga, disclosed this in a statement on Thursday, noting that operatives attached to the Operations Department arrested Ojele during a routine patrol along the Awka–Enugu Expressway near Ngozika Estate on Wednesday.
According to the statement, the suspect later led the police to his concealed farm, where large quantities of weeds suspected to be cannabis sativa were discovered and seized.
Ikenga added that the Commissioner of Police, CP Nnaghe Itam, has directed that the suspect be handed over to the Special Anti-Cultism Squad, Enugwu-Ukwu, for discreet investigation to trace his buyers and dismantle his distribution network.
This arrest comes amid renewed efforts by the command to curb drug abuse, cultism, and related crimes across the state. Recently, no fewer than 54 suspects — 39 males and 15 females — were apprehended during coordinated raids in Ogidi, Idemili North, and Ifitedunu, Dunukofia Local Government Areas. The suspects were arrested for offences ranging from kidnapping, cultism, to dealing in banned substances.
Ikenga stressed that the operations were part of strategies aimed at restoring sanity in the state and reducing the growing menace of crime among young people, particularly those between the ages of 18 and 26.
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