The Oyo State command of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) says it has arrested 20 drug suspects during its mop-up operations in the build-up to the May 29 inauguration of the new administration in the country.

Its state commander, Olayinka Joe-Fadile, made this known to journalists at the command headquarters on Saturday in Ibadan.

Mr Joe-Fadile said the command also seized about 2.96kg of cannabis sativa.

He noted that the arrested suspects comprised 18 males and two females, mainly drug users.

He said the command escalated mop-up operations in addition to its statutory operations in response to the directive from the NDLEA chairman, Buba Marwa, to carry out serious intelligent mop-up operations so that all our states would be safe for the inauguration.

The new state commander stated that his focus when he assumed duty on May 8 was to execute the provisions of the agency enabling Act.

“We are going after drug farms, manufacturers, distributors and users, which we see as victims.

“We have lots of forest in the state, which has made cannabis planting convenient.

“Our target is to destroy these drugs from farms before they get to maturity and get to market; we will also mop up the few that escape to the market.

“The command recently discovered and destroyed a drug farm at Olosun village in Akinyele Local Government Area of the state, and we are going for more.”

The state commander said the suspects would be released after the inauguration.

Mr Joe-Fadile also cautioned that the drug war in Nigeria continued and would not be business as usual, noting that the new sheriff would not tolerate illicit drug business.

“The command is ready to go to any length to pick every drug baron without any sacred cow, and anyone picked up for the offence that is prosecutable would face the full wrath of the law, ” he said.

(NAN)