Akwa Ibom Police smash drug dens, arrest four suspects

Erin Ekpimah

Police in Akwa Ibom State have arrested four suspects and seized large quantities of suspected cannabis in coordinated raids on suspected criminal hideouts, the state police command said on Sunday.

The operation, carried out on Friday, forms part of a wider campaign ordered by the State Commissioner of Police, Baba Mohammed Azare, to dismantle criminal hideouts and clear so-called “black spots” across the state, according to DSP Timfon John, the command’s Police Public Relations Officer, in a statement issued on behalf of the commissioner.

At around 4 pm on 5 September, officers acting on intelligence raided a suspected hideout along Aka-Etinan Road in Uyo, the state capital. One suspect, 25-year-old Inemesit Ekpeyong, was arrested at the scene, and a subsequent search reportedly turned up a substantial quantity of suspected cannabis.

In a separate but coordinated raid, the command’s Anti-Cultism Unit stormed a property at Mnideim Nto Udo village, in Essien Udim Local Government Area, after receiving intelligence that the site was being used for the sale and consumption of illicit drugs.

Three further suspects – Mandu John, Ubong John, and Ekemine John, were detained during the raid, and additional quantities of suspected cannabis were recovered.

According to the statement, Azare has ordered a full investigation into all four suspects, including efforts to trace their suppliers and any wider criminal networks linked to the seized substances. The recovered exhibits will undergo forensic analysis, and those found culpable will face prosecution.

Azare was quoted as warning that the command would not allow any part of Akwa Ibom to become a haven for drug dealers, cultists or other violent offenders.

He has directed Area Commanders, Divisional Police Officers and tactical units in the state to sustain intelligence-led raids on identified drug joints and criminal hideouts, saying the goal was to deny criminals room to operate.

The commissioner assured residents that the crackdown would continue and cautioned anyone involved in the sale or distribution of illicit drugs to desist or face prosecution. He also appealed to the public to keep providing credible, timely information to the police, pledging that informants’ identities would be kept strictly confidential, and reaffirmed the command’s commitment to protecting lives and property across the state.