POLICE ARREST MAN PRETENDING TO BE INSANE, UNCOVER MARIJUANA FARM IN AWKA

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By Aishat Momoh. O.

The Anambra State Police Command has arrested a 43-year-old man, Patrick Ojele, who allegedly feigned mental illness while secretly running a marijuana farm in Awka, the state capital.

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The suspect, who had reportedly been cultivating cannabis for over two years, was nabbed on Wednesday, September 17, 2025, during a routine patrol along the Awka–Enugu Expressway near Ngozika Estate.

Police spokesman, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, in a statement on Thursday, said Ojele later led operatives to a hidden farm where large quantities of weeds suspected to be cannabis sativa were recovered.

According to Ikenga, the Commissioner of Police, CP Ikioye Orutugu, ordered that the suspect be transferred to the Special Anti-Cultism Squad, Enugwu-Ukwu, for further investigation to trace his buyers and dismantle the wider distribution network.

“The arrest reflects the Command’s renewed strategy of cutting off criminal supplies by targeting drug dealers who embolden cultists and violent offenders,” Orutugu stated.

In a separate operation, operatives of the Special Anti-Cultism Squad arrested 10 suspected cultists and recovered a pistol and ammunition.

Ikenga said the suspects were picked up on Thursday, September 18, after a raid on the residence of Ndefoh Chijoke, 23, a member of the Aye Confraternity (Black Axe), in Ogbunike, Oyi LGA.

A search on Chijoke led to the recovery of an Ontario CA American-made pistol with one live round of ammunition. Further intelligence from the suspect resulted in the arrest of nine others: 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).

The suspects are currently undergoing profiling, and those found culpable will be charged in court.

CP Orutugu commended the swift action of the operatives, reiterating the Command’s commitment to aggressive raids, intelligence-led policing, and community collaboration to rid Anambra of cultism, drug abuse, and violent crime.

He assured residents that the state remains calm as counter-terrorism and crime prevention operations continue.