Rhoda Agboje a 300-level undergraduate and her boyfriend Ifeanyi Nwankwo have been arrested by men of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).
The NDLEA spokesperson, Femi Babafemi made this known to journalists stating that, they were arrested for making and selling drug cookies to school children and other unsuspecting members of the public in Abuja.
He stated that, narcotics agents with the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Command of the NDLEA have also launched a manhunt for another member of the syndicate involved in producing the cookies.
He further stated that the cookies are suspected to be laced with Arizona, a highly psychoactive variant of cannabis, alcohol, and Rohypnol among other ingredients.
In a released statement, Babafemi said, “Their lid was blown open following the arrest of Rhoda Agboje with four pieces of the drug cookies on Sunday, April 18, 2021.”
“She was arrested at the NNPC Cooperative estate, opposite Gaduwa estate in Abuja based on a complaint that she gave an unsuspecting young girl the cookies to eat. After eating the drug cookies, the girl lost her mind and could not sleep, making incoherent utterances due to the effects of the cookies.”
The statement further read that, “under interrogation, the prime suspect, Rhoda confessed she prepares the cookies with a friend and sells each pack of three pieces at N1, 500. A follow-up operation in her boyfriend’s house led to the recovery of over 200 pieces of the drug cookies.”
Rhoda was also said to have confirmed that she sells at parties and to unsuspecting members of the public, including school children that are the most vulnerable. She also supplies some supermarkets and clubs in the FCT.
The Chairman/Chief Executive of the NDLEA, Brig. General Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retd), while commending the officers said that “what the syndicate was doing is not only criminal but equally unconscionable by deliberately luring schoolchildren into drug under the cover of selling to them biscuits or cookies.”
He said, “I wish to draw the attention of parents to this new devious strategy to get children addicted to drug cookies and to urge them to remain vigilant while monitoring what their wards bring home from school or consume as snack.”
