By Oladele Eniola
Badagry – The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) on Thursday said it seized 9,602.06 kilogrammes of Indian hemp in its Seme command in Lagos State between January and June, 2017.
Also impounded by the command during the period, according to the agency’s Commander in the area, Mr Odotong Essien, were six grammes of Raphenol and five bottles of Benelin with codeine.
He told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Badagry that a pistol with 10 rounds of live ammunitions and six bags of catalyst suspected to be Improvised Explosive Device (IED) were also seized.
Essien said that a total of 31 suspects were arrested in connection with some of the offences during the period.
He said that the suspects comprised 26 males and five females, including one Ghanaian and five Beninoise, adding that nine of the suspects had been convicted and sentenced to various jail terms.
“The command isn’t just about arresting and prosecuting offenders, we also believe in rehabilitation. So10 drug-dependent persons were counselled and went through rehabilitation.
“Various enlightenment programmes were embarked upon to enlighten the public of the danger of drug abuse and trafficking and we would ensure that in the other half of the year, more arrests will be made,” he said
The commander revealed that the command had modified its ways to block drug trafficking through the marine.
“The border is well guided by different security agencies; so, the drug traffickers have started using the waterways to traffic drugs.
“We use proactive intelligence to intercept the drug traffickers.
“We have modified our strategies by blocking the various track routes and waterways through partnering the Marine Unit of the Nigeria Customs Service and Marine Police, and it has paid off tremendously.
“The inter-agency cooperation and synergy at the border among the command, customs and the police have made our work easier and they must be highly commended,” he said.
He commended the commitment of the Chairman of NDLEA, Col. Muhammed Abdallah (retd), for providing the necessary equipment and logistics for the command’s operations.
“Drug Free Clubs have been set up at various schools so as to enlighten the youths about the side effects of drugs and we also believe that it should be tackled from the grassroots.
“We also need X-ray machines, scanners, sniffer dogs, and more vehicles are needed to enable us to carry out our duties more efficiently,” Essien said.
He urged the public to desist from drug trafficking or face the wrath of the law.
