Kogi State command of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a 65-year-old woman, her 31-year-old daughter and a herbalist.
The command equally seized a total of 2,193.889kg of cannabis sativa, popularly called Indian hemp in the last two months.
The state commander, Alhaji Mohammed Idris Bello, told newsmen while parading the suspects in Lokoja that the woman, alongside her daughter, were arrested on Lokoja- Abuja road during a stop and search operation, addinmg that they were caught with two travelling bags filled with 43Kg of cannabis sativa.
The commander added that the command made another breakthrough in Kabba, where it arrested a middle-aged herbalist with 10kg of weeds suspected to be India hemp and five live ammunitions at his residence in Ben Thomas area.
The herbalist, according to the NDLEA commander, claimed to be into alternative medicine and a member of vigilance group in Kabba.
The herbalist, while speaking with newsmen, claimed that he was using Indian hemp to prepare medicine to cure ulcer.
The 65-year-old mother also told newsmen that it was poverty that made her and the daughter to engage in drug trafficking.
In the period under review, the state commander said 51 arrests were made, while eight accused persons were convicted by the Federal High Court sitting in Lokoja, with 14 vehicles confiscated.
[Tribune]