THE National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) scored a major feat in its operations as it dismantled a clandestine laboratory for the production of hashish oil in Lagos.
The Principal Staff Officer, Public Affairs of the agency, Jonah Achema, in a statement in Abuja, said the laboratory was the first ever in the country. Hashish oil is a derivative of cannabis sativa. Also known as honey oil or cannabis oil, it is an oleoresin obtained by the extraction of cannabis or hashish. It is a cannabis concentrate containing many of its resins and terpenes – in particular, tetrahydrocannabinol, cannabidiol, and other cannabinoids.
It can be smoked, vaped, eaten, or rubbed onto the skin. The use of hash oil is sometimes called “dabbing” or “burning.”
The statement revealed that the laboratory, located at 7 Imam Augusto Close, Victoria Island, was dismantled by the Serious Enforcement Team of the agency.
The Agency also arrested the suspected owner of the laboratory, Oladapo Ifedayo Oluseyi Adedayo.
Chairman/Chief Executive of the NDLEA, Col. Muhammad Mustapha Abdallah (Rtd.), in the statement said the drug trade is “assuming a hitherto unthinkable dimension for somebody to turn his premises into a cannabis farm and also establish in the same premises a laboratory to process the proceeds into bye products such as Hashish.”
He urged all stakeholders to deploy all means “to contain this daredevilry because Nigeria cannot afford a dangerous brew of hashish oil and that of methamphetamine which the Agency has been working assiduously to put an end to its local production.”
Adedayo is a half-caste, with a Nigerian father (late Professor OLADAPO Ifedayo Olawole, an indigene of Ondo town, Ondo State, Nigeria and a Danish Mother, Dr. Mrs. Jyette Marie (nee Roug). He is a graduate of University of Southern Denmark with a degree in Electronic Engineering.
Aged 42, Adedayo claimed to have been pushed into the hydroponic cannabis growing and Hashish Oil extraction following the collapse of his Inverter, Metering and Solar Installation Company in 2019.
He said he noticed that there is so much money to be made in view of the high demand for hashish oil in the international market as a curative medicine for cancer.
“Adedayo’s expansive premises, is well fortified with protective dogs and himself well armed, ostensibly to put up resistance from the suspected onslaught of law enforcement agencies.
In the course of the operation, several drug exhibits were recovered including 911 grams of cannabis seeds, 21 Kilograms of cannabis infused ethanol, 83 grams of hashish oil 123mg THC-70 CBD, 1.127 Kilograms of cannabis cream, 80 grams of fresh cannabis plant and 25 grams of dried cannabis plant.
“Other items found in the active laboratory are: 500 grams of Potassium Hydroxide Pellets, Propyl Alcohol, 500 grams of Sodium Hydroxide Pellets, Distilled water, Water Aspirator Vacuum Pump, Round bottom Flasks, Citric Acid, PH Meter, Retort Stands, Distillation Flasks, Printer, Spectronet wireless wifi, Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) Pipes, Wooden base for Hydroponic System of Cannabis growing, LED Flood lighting for Photosynthesis purpose for the Cannabis indoor planting and one product of Berreta 92 Pistol (a short gun) with thirteen (13) rounds of live ammunition,” the agency said.
