Umar Muhammed and Ted Odogwu
About 719 suspected drug traffickers have been arrested by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency in Nasarawa and Kano states.
Out of the figure, 180 were arrested by
the Nasarawa State chapter of the NDLEA for being in possession of over
3,331 kg of narcotics.
Commandant of the agency in the state,
Mr. Sumaila Ethan, who revealed this during a press briefing with
journalists in Lafia, the state capital, said 47 drug barons had been
convicted while 133 had been counselled and rehabilitated.
He disclosed that the command had also
arrested a 40-year-old drug baron, Mr. Christain Okeke, for being in
possession of 108 cartons of tramadol 225mg, weighing 2,873.88 kg.
He was arrested on December 7, 2017 in Masaka, Karu Local Government Area of the state.
Ethan said, “Our operational activities
between January and December, 2017 revealed an increase in the number of
arrests/seizures above that of last year, especially in the abuse of
psychotropic substances, such as tramadol, codeine, among others.
“It may interest you to note that
tramadol, which is an opiate similar to heroin in its addictive nature,
has become the most abused psychoactive substance in the state.”
Meanwhile, the Kano State Commandant of
the NDLEA, Alhaji Hamza Umar, on Friday in Kano, the state capital, said
the agency seized drugs weighing 17,113.464kg, as well as arrested 619
suspected drug traffickers between January and December 2017.
Umar, who said the agency had had the
support of Civil Society Organisations and the Kano Steering Committee,
made the disclosure during a briefing with journalists.
According to him, the suspects were
arraigned before the Federal High Court in the state while the command
secured 165 convictions during the year.
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