Delta NDLEA Seizes Drugs Worth Over ₦2 Billion, Destroys 36.2 Hectares of Cannabis Farms

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Delta State Command, has reported the seizure of illicit drugs with an estimated street value exceeding ₦2 billion during operations conducted across the state between July 2025 and September 2026. The command also destroyed 36.2 hectares of Cannabis Sativa farmland in three separate operations as part of efforts to disrupt cultivation and trafficking networks. The figures were disclosed by Delta State NDLEA Commander, Halilu Hamidi, during a press briefing in Ogwashi-Uku.

According to Hamidi, the command recovered approximately 2.446 tonnes of solid drug exhibits, including 1.387 tonnes of Cannabis Sativa, 81.023kg of cannabis seeds, 666.295kg of Tramadol, as well as smaller quantities of cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, Molly and other controlled substances. Operatives also recovered more than 1,300 litres of liquid drug exhibits, including codeine, pentazocine, diazepam and tramadol injections.

Several of the seizures were made along major transportation corridors linking Delta with other parts of southern Nigeria. The command reported raiding a warehouse at Oko Market in Asaba where drugs valued at more than ₦150 million were allegedly stored. Operatives also intercepted consignments along the Benin–Asaba Expressway, including a truck carrying codeine estimated at ₦150 million and another vehicle carrying psychotropic substances valued at about ₦100 million. Two commercial buses intercepted along the Onitsha–Asaba Expressway were also found carrying substances with a combined estimated street value of more than ₦300 million.

The agency’s operations also targeted cannabis cultivation at its source. Hamidi said 10.2 hectares of suspected cannabis farmland were destroyed at Emu-Obiogo in Ndokwa West Local Government Area in August 2025. Another 11 hectares were destroyed at Obiaruku in Ukwani Local Government Area in May 2026, followed two days later by the destruction of 15 hectares at Orogun in Ughelli North Local Government Area. Together, the three operations accounted for the reported 36.2 hectares.

The Delta command said its strategy combines enforcement with prevention, public education, counselling and collaboration with other stakeholders. The reported operations illustrate the scale and variety of illicit-drug activity being targeted in the state, from cultivation and storage to transportation through major commercial routes. The NDLEA said it would continue intelligence-led operations while expanding preventive programmes aimed particularly at young people.