The Anambra State Police Command has arrested a 43-year-old man, Patrick Ojele, who allegedly disguised as mentally unstable while secretly cultivating a large marijuana farm in Awka, the state capital.
Police spokesperson SP Tochukwu Ikenga, in a statement on Thursday, said operatives attached to the operations department arrested the suspect during a routine patrol along the Awka–Enugu Expressway near Ngozika Estate.
Ikenga disclosed that Ojele later led investigators to a hidden farm where large quantities of substances suspected to be cannabis sativa were recovered.
Commissioner of Police, CP Ikioye Orutugu, said the operation reflects the command’s renewed strategy of targeting drug dealers who supply cultists and violent gangs.
He directed that the suspect be handed over to the Special Anti-Cultism Squad, Enugwu-Ukwu, for further investigation to trace his buyers and dismantle his distribution network.
In a separate operation, police operatives arrested 10 suspected cultists across the state, recovering firearms and ammunition. Ikenga confirmed that the arrests followed intelligence-led raids on Thursday.
He listed the suspects as Ndefoh Chijoke, 23; Obuh Onyedika, 27; Obuh Confidence, 19; Mbanusi Nnaemeka, 22; Godwin Udebeh, 31; Chizoba Onuake, 19; Ohazunike Martins, 23; Ndife Chidorie, 23; Nwosu Chinecherem, 22; and Caleb Nwafor, 26.
An American-made pistol with live ammunition was recovered during the operations.
The suspects are currently undergoing profiling and will be charged to court if found culpable.
CP Orutugu commended the swift action of the operatives, stressing the command’s commitment to sustained raids, intelligence gathering, and community collaboration to combat cultism, arms proliferation, and other violent crimes in the state.
He assured residents that security operations remain ongoing and that normalcy has been maintained across Anambra.