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.
Police operatives attached to the Operations Department, Awka, nabbed the suspect during a routine patrol on September 17, 2025, along the Awka–Enugu Expressway near Ngozika Estate. He later led the team to a hidden farm where large quantities of cannabis sativa were recovered.
According to a statement by the Police Public Relations Officer, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, Ojele had been cultivating the farm for over two years under the guise of mental illness. The Commissioner of Police, CP Ikioye Orutugu, described the arrest as part of the command’s strategy to disrupt drug supply chains that fuel cultism and violent crime in the state.
The CP directed that the suspect be handed over to the Special Anti-Cultism Squad, Enugwu-Ukwu, for further investigation to trace his buyers and dismantle the wider distribution network.
In a separate development, police operatives also arrested 10 suspected cultists in Oyi Local Government Area. The suspects, believed to be members of the Aye Confraternity (Black Axe), were caught with firearms and ammunition. Those apprehended include Ndefoh Chijoke, Obuh Onyedika, Obuh Confidence, Mbanusi Nnaemeka, Godwin Udebeh, Chizoba Onuake, Ohazunike Martins, Ndife Chidorie, Nwosu Chinecherem, and Caleb Nwafor.
The suspects are currently undergoing screening and profiling, after which those found culpable will be charged to court. CP Orutugu commended the swift action of the operatives and reaffirmed the police command’s commitment to intelligence-led operations, community collaboration, and aggressive raids to curb crime in the state.
The Anambra Police Command has in recent months intensified its crackdown on drugs, cultism, kidnapping, and violent crimes, leading to the arrest of over 50 suspects across different LGAs.
