The Lagos State Police Command has uncovered a suspected indoor cannabis farm operating within a residential building in the Apapa area of the state.
A viral video published by News Central showed what appeared to be an ordinary residential apartment allegedly converted into a facility for growing cannabis indoors.
The plants were reportedly expected to take about three months to mature before being harvested and sold in the illicit drug market.
The report linked the operation to a foreign national who was allegedly trafficked into Nigeria and a Nigerian man who managed the property where the cannabis farm was discovered.
The property manager, whose identity was not disclosed, said he offered assistance to the foreigner after the company that brought him into the country allegedly abandoned him, claiming that he did not intend to make money from the operation.
“The gentleman here found himself in a fix in Nigeria. I decided to give him a hand. However, he needed to find a way to go out of the country after the company that brought him abandoned him.
“So, I said anything he needed help with, he should let me know. A couple of days later, he came up with this idea, and I said, well, I hope everything works out well for him. But then, I found myself here with it. I have no intention to profit from it. I am a businessman. I just happen to be someone who fell into the hands of trying to help a fellow man. I wanted to help him so he could go back to his country,” the property manager said.
He acknowledged that he knew the activity was not approved by the government, adding that the operation came to light when an attempt was made to sell the cannabis.
“It was in the process of selling it that he got caught. I don’t know who he contacted, and this whole thing burst,” he added.
Reacting to the discovery, the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Tijani Fatai, described it as another achievement in the Command’s efforts to combat drug abuse and trafficking.
“Nobody could have thought that this kind of thing could exist. They are being grown in cups, and after germinating, they will be harvested and sold into society again.
“This type of thing is being grown in this community. Citizens should try to know what the occupations of their neighbours are,” Fatai said.
The police said investigations were ongoing as the Command intensified efforts to prevent the distribution of illicit drugs.