Police, NDLEA clash over suspected drug dealer

Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) clashed on Thursday with their police counterparts at the Ekeki Police Division in Bayelsa State over attempts to arrest a suspected drug dealer.

The clash caused panic at the Ekeki Police Division in Yenagoa.

It was learnt that some NDLEA operatives were in the area to arrest a woman suspected of being a drug peddler.

The operatives had made an entry in the police records before carrying out their assignment.

A resident of Ekeki told a News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) correspondent that as the NDLEA squad was carrying out their operation, the police operatives from the Ekeki Police Division obstructed them, resulting in an altercation and several gunshots that scared off residents.

NAN sighted two NDLEA operation vehicles with deflated tyres, apparently from gunshots fired by the police operatives.

NDLEA police speak on the incident

When contacted, the NDLEA spokesperson in Bayelsa, Howells Obah, said the agency’s operatives complied with standard operational procedure in carrying out the raid on the suspected drug dealer.

“Our men went for operation behind Ekeki Police Division. Our man made an entry in the police station as required but we learnt the suspect is a wife of a policeman and enjoyed protection.

“They shot two of our vehicles, and we are trying to see how we can take them out, and we are making efforts to keep the situation from escalating further.” Mr Obah said.

READ ALSO: NDLEA arrests ex-convict, recovers 316,800 bottles of codeine

Musa Mohammed, the police spokesperson in Bayelsa, confirmed the incident and said he was hurrying to the scene to find out what happened.

“I am going there now to find out what happened,” said Mr Mohammed, a deputy superintendent of police.

(NAN)