The Anambra State Police Command has arrested a 43-year-old man, Patrick Ojele, for allegedly pretending to be mentally unstable while secretly cultivating a large cannabis farm in Awka, the state capital.
Police spokesperson, DSP Tochukwu Ikenga, revealed in a statement on Thursday that Ojele was apprehended by operatives attached to the Operations Department during a routine patrol along the Awka–Enugu Expressway near Ngozika Estate on Wednesday, September 17, 2025.
“The suspect had been posing as a mentally unstable individual, a disguise that allowed him to avoid suspicion while maintaining a concealed marijuana farm,” Ikenga said.
According to the statement, after his arrest, Ojele led officers to the hidden farm, where a substantial quantity of what is believed to be cannabis sativa was discovered and seized.
Commissioner of Police, CP Ikioye Orutugu, commended the officers involved and noted that the arrest is part of the Command’s intensified effort to clamp down on drug dealers and dismantle supply lines that fuel cult activities and violent crimes in the state.
“This is part of our strategic approach to deprive criminals, particularly cultists and violent gangs, of their access to drugs and other illegal substances,” Orutugu stated.
The CP has ordered that Ojele be transferred to the Special Anti-Cultism Squad in Enugwu-Ukwu for thorough investigation.
The squad is expected to trace his buyers and unravel the network behind the illegal drug operation.
This development comes amid a wider crackdown by the state police. As previously reported, the Command has recently arrested 54 suspects, including 39 men and 15 women, for crimes including cultism, drug trafficking, and kidnapping.
The arrests followed coordinated raids across several communities, including Ogidi in Idemili North and Ifitedunu in Dunukofia LGA, as part of broader efforts to restore law and order, particularly among youth aged 18 to 26.
