The Anambra State Police Command has arrested a 43-year-old man, Patrick Ojele, who pretended to be mentally unstable while secretly running a marijuana farm in Awka, the state capital.
It was gathered that the suspect had been running the farm for over two years, reports The PUNCH.
In a statement released yesterday, the spokesman for the Anambra State Police Command, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, said the operatives attached to the operations department, Awka, arrested the suspect after a routine patrol on Wednesday.
Ikenga said the suspect was arrested along the Awka–Enugu Expressway near the Ngozika Estate and later led the team to the hidden farm, where large quantities of weeds suspected to be cannabis sativa were recovered.
The statement read in part, “The Anambra State Police Command has arrested a 43-year-old man, Patrick Ojele, who pretended to be mentally unstable while secretly cultivating a marijuana farm in Awka, the state capital.
“The police operatives attached to the Operations Department, Awka, nabbed the suspect on September 17, 2025, during a routine patrol along the Awka–Enugu Expressway near the Ngozika Estate.
“He later led the team to the hidden farm, where large quantities of weeds suspected to be cannabis sativa were recovered.
“The Commissioner of Police, CP Ikioye Orutugu, noted that the arrest reflects the command’s renewed strategy of cutting off criminal supplies by targeting drug dealers who embolden cultists and violent offenders.”
According to him, the CP further directed that the suspect should be handed over to the Special Anti-Cultism Squad, Enugwu-Ukwu, for discreet investigation to trace his buyers and dismantle the wider distribution network.
In another development, the police have arrested 10 suspected cultists and recovered firearms and ammunition in separate operations conducted across the state.
Ikenga, who confirmed the development, said the exercise was in furtherance of the command’s ongoing onslaught against cultism and violent crimes.
Ikenga said the suspects were arrested in the early hours of Thursday, adding that they are currently undergoing screening and profiling, after which those found culpable will be charged in court.
The statement read in part, “The Anambra State Police Command in its ongoing onslaught against cultism and violent crimes, through police operatives attached to the Special Anti-Cultism Squad Enugu-Ukwu in the early hours of Thursday, September 18, 2025, acting on credible intelligence, stormed the residence of Ndefoh Chijoke ‘M’, aged 23 years, a strong member of the Aye Confraternity (Black Axe), in Ogbunike village, Oyi Local Government Area, who was sighted in the company of other suspected cultists.
“Upon a search of him, an Ontario CA American-made pistol with one live round of ammunition was recovered from the suspect.
“Also, in a follow-up on the information obtained on the spot from the suspect, nine other suspects were arrested. They include: Obuh Onyedika ‘M’ 27yrs, Obuh Confidence, ‘M’, 19 years; Mbanusi Nnaemeka, ‘M’, 22 years; Godwin Udebeh, ‘M’, 31 years; Chizoba Onuake, ‘M’, 19 years; Ohazunike Martins, ‘M’, 23 years; Ndife Chidorie, ‘M’, 23 years; Nwosu Chinecherem, ‘M’, 22 years, and Caleb Nwafor, ‘M’, 26 years.
“The suspects are currently undergoing screening and profiling, after which those found culpable will be charged in court.”
He said the Commissioner of Police in the state, CP Ikioye Orutugu, commended the swift action of the operatives and reiterated the Command’s commitment to sustaining aggressive raids, intelligence-led operations, and community collaboration to rid the State of cultism, firearms proliferation, and other violent crimes.
“An investigation is ongoing, and further developments will be communicated.
“Meanwhile, other parts of the state remain calm as counter-terrorism and crime prevention operations continue,” the statement concluded.
It was earlier reported that the police command had arrested no fewer than 54 suspects, comprising 39 males and 15 females, for various offences ranging from kidnapping, cultism, hard drugs and banned substances.
Ikenga said the arrests were followed by coordinated raids by police operatives in Ogidi, Idemili North Local Government Area, and Ifitedunu, Dunukofia LGA, in separate raid operations.
According to him, the coordinated operations were in line with renewed strategies aimed at restoring sanity in the state and curbing the growing menace of crime among young people bet
ween 18 and 26 years.
