The Edo State Command of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, said it has destroyed 50 hectares of marijuana farms and 17 tonnes of the substance seized in 2023.
Buba Wakama, the state commander of the agency, disclosed this on Tuesday in Benin while briefing newsmen on the command’s achievements in 2023.
Wakawa said that the hectares comprised 46 farms located in different parts of the state.
The NDLEA commander said that the suspects chose to engage in the cultivation of the illicit plant rather than farming food crops that would be useful to the populace.
He stated that the agency also seized 17.955 tonnes of marijuana and other psychotropic substances during the period.
“The largest quantity of drugs seized is marijuana, which is 17.487 tonnes while cocaine, heroin and codeine syrup, among other psychotropic drugs, constituted the remaining value,” he said.