The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has warned owners/operators of supermarkets and confectionaries to rid their stores of cannabis cookies, biscuits and other products laced with illicit substances.
NDLEA Chairman/ Chief Executive, Brig. General Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retd) gave the warning on Friday while receiving a further briefing on follow-up operations from the Commander, FCT Command of the Agency, Mohammed Malami Sokoto.
This followed the arrest of a 300-level university student, Rhoda Agboje and her boyfriend, Ifeanyi Nwankwo, both of who specialise in producing and selling drug cookies to schoolchildren, clubs and supermarkets in Abuja.
“As part of our preventive measures, we’ll henceforth go after supermarkets, clubs, confectionaries and other outlets and their owners, selling drug cookies, biscuits, cakes and other products laced with illicit substances under whatever guise,” he said.
“We’ll not shy away from hitting their production spots, supply and sales outlets before getting into the hands of innocent schoolchildren, unsuspecting members of the public and even our vulnerable young men and women. We won’t rest on this until we chase them out of this criminal business.
“This is why I want to seize this opportunity to warn owners and operators of supermarkets, clubs and other sales outlets to clean their stores of these illicit substances before we get to them.”
The suspects were arrested for producing the cookies with Arizona, a highly psychoactive variant of cannabis; alcohol, and Rohypnol among other ingredients.
Their lid was blown open following the arrest of Rhoda Agboje with four pieces of the drug cookies on Sunday, 18th April 2021.
She was arrested at the NNPC Cooperative Estate, opposite Gaduwa Estate in Abuja based on a complaint that she gave an unsuspecting young girl the cookies to eat. After eating the drug cookies, the girl lost her mind and could not sleep, making incoherent utterances due to the effects of the cookies.
Under interrogation, the prime suspect, Rhoda confessed that she prepares the cookies with a friend and sells each pack of three pieces at N1, 500. A follow-up operation in her boyfriend’s house led to the recovery of over 200 pieces of the drug cookies.
NA
