No fewer than 43 dealers and consumers of illicit substances have been arrested in a fresh raid in Nasarawa, Benue and Ondo States by the operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) with 137.55 kilogrammes assorted drugs recovered.
Few days ago, the NDLEA in coordinated raids of seven states of Ondo, Akwa Ibom, Adamawa, Enugu, Bauchi, Edo and Anambra seized a total of 8,268.2 kilogrammes of assorted illicit drugs.
In the latest raids, according to the spokesman of the NDLEA, Femi Babafemi said in Nasarawa state, NDLEA operatives backed by a detachment of soldiers from 177 battalion of the Nigerian Army, Keffi, raided notorious drug joints located in Kara Masaka, Ruwa Ruwa Uke, Abattoir at the border with FCT, Filing Bala, Masaka U- Turn and others for two consecutive days; 5th and 6th August 2021, during which at least 41 suspects were arrested and assorted drugs such as cocaine, cannabis sativa, cough syrup with codeine, rohypnol and tramadol with a total weight of 65.250 kilogrammes were recovered.
He disclosed that cannabis plants planted by the drug dealers in the adjoining bushes were destroyed while all the stalls in the drug markets were dismantled and set ablaze.
He said in the same vein, operatives of the Ondo state command of the agency in the early hours of Monday, 9th August, 2021 raided Odopetu area of Akure in Akure South local government area of the state capital, where a 44-year-old Mrs. Folake Ademola was arrested while her husband fled.
Babafemi said recovered from their home include: 65.4 kilogrammes of cannabis sativa; skunk – 500 grammes; loud- 16 grammes; Colorado- 34 grammes, bringing the total of drugs seized from them to 65.95 kilogrammes.
In Benue state, a 34-year-old Iornum Emmanuel was arrested at the NDLEA Aliade checkpoint on Sunday 8th August, 2021 with different quantities of assorted illicit drugs, which include; tramadol -500 grammes; diazepam- 1.5 kilogrammes and exol 5- 7.9 kilogrammes.
Reacting to the latest success, Chairman/Chief Executive of the NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (Retd) commended the commanders, officers and men of the Nasarawa, Ondo and Benue state commands for their commitment to the goal of ridding the country of the menace of drug abuse and trafficking.
He however charged them and their colleagues in other commands to continue on the offensive until the last drug cartel in Nigeria is dismantled.
