Bauchi’s narcotic agents nab female ex-convict, man over Indian hemp

Ishola Michael, Gombe

The suspect, Alice with her exhibits. For Alice Offune, 46, a mother of eight, and Ja’afaru Ibrahim, it was the end of the road to a booming business when they were both arrested for being in possession of 40 kilogrammes and 150 kg of substances believed to be Indian hemp respectively by men of the Gombe State command of National Drugs Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) during a raid operation at Madaki quarters of Gombe metropolis last weekend.

While briefing newsmen on the activities of the Agency since the beginning of the year, the State Commander of the NDLEA, Ishaku Iliya declared that the 197 kg of the illegal hard drug recovered from the duo were the biggest seizure ever made by the agency in the state declaring further that when quantified, the volume of the seizure would amount to the sum of over N500,000.

The NDLEA boss stated that Ja’afaru Ibrahim, alias ‘Jaff’, is an indigene of Benue State who was nabbed following a tip-off from an informant, adding that in order to substantiate the information made available to the agency, and to establish the grounds and facts for easy arrest and prosecution of the suspect before a court of law, the Command made a pre-purchase of the banned substance to serve as an alibi while in the course of interrogation.

Investigations further revealed that for Jaff to conceal his illegal business, he took his consignment to a hideout at Galdimari, a village of about 25 kilometers from the state capital, in Kwami local government area.

Iliya added that the suspect, who was arrested last week Monday, had already confessed to having committed the offence and told the narcotic agents that he usually took delivery of the substance from a supplier who is based in Edo state, but he refused to mention his name.

On the other hand, Alice Offune who hails from Delta state, was arrested in Madaki Quarters with some wrapped parcels of the cannabis concealed in two Ghana-must-go bags, and had also confessed that the suspected substance was brought to her for safe keeping, without her knowing what the contents was.

Speaking further on Alice, the Commander said she was once arrested for a similar offence in Maiduguri some years back. While in detention, she gave birth to a child, whom she named after the then Chief Executive of the Agency, late General Musa Bamaiyi.