The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) said it intercepted 5, 307.966Kg of various illicit drugs in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in 2020.
NDLEA Commander in the FCT, Mr Lawan Hamisu, said this in an interview with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Abuja.
Hamisu also said the agency arrested 505 suspects in the territory during the period.
The commander said over 4000kg of the seized drugs were cannabis, while others were Psychotropic substances such as Tramadol, Codeine, Rohypnol, Diazepam and cocaine.
He said there was increase in the seizures of drugs made in 2020 – over 5,000kg, compared to 2019 when 4000kg illicits drugs were seized.
Hamisu said 2, 500kg of drugs were intercepted during the COVID-19 lockdown, which fell within the period under review.
According to him, suspects took advantage of free movement of foodstuffs during the lockdown and stuffed vehicles with illicit drugs.
He said of the 505 suspects arrested, 11 were females while 494 were males.
The commander explained that 257 of the suspects were counseled under its “brief intervention.”
He said the command secured the conviction of 118 of them, while 130 cases were pending in court.
“Apart from the 505 suspects arrested in 2020, another achievement was the arrest of 90 suspects, which were incidental and as such they were debriefed and released immediately,” said Hamisu.
He added that during the period under review, the command working alongside other agencies recommended visa clearance for 67 applicants.
“Similarly we participated in the ongoing ‘Operation Sharan Daji’) a military operation in the North West) when kidnappings were rampant in Kuje in the FCT,” he said.
He said the command transferred two cases of financial and fraudulent crimes to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) during the period.
“We also intercepted two gunrunners and transferred them to the Police Command in the FCT,” he said.