…Seizes 14,196.800kg hard drugs
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) says it has arrested 584 persons for drug-related offences with a seizure of 14,196.800kg of hard drugs in different areas of Lagos State.
The Agency Commander Lagos State, Barr. Ralph Igwenagu, divulged this during the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking.
He said the arrest of the suspects was made within one year. “The command has also secured the conviction of 144 defendants, who were consequently sentenced with various terms of imprisonment, while 160 drug users were counseled and rehabilitated,” he added.
Speaking on the International Day against Drugs, Igwenagu averred that June 26 is set aside annually to highlight to the dangers associated with drug trafficking and abuse global community.
According to the commander, the day is also for nations of the world to assess their performances in drug control with a view to re-invigorating their efforts in curtailing the drug menace.
The theme of this year’s event ‘Better Knowledge for Better Care’ #FactsForSolidarity, according to him, was apt and timely. “It underscores the current response to the current world drug challenge which requires better and informed knowledge of drug use disorders which are the result of a complex interplay of factors that are beyond the control of an individual”.
Igwenagu, however, decried that drug trafficking and abuse had reached an epidemic level globally, hence, had become an embarrassing scourge afflicting both individuals and the society at large.
In his view, “It has destabilised families, truncated the promising future of youths and has remained a negative force driving anti-social behavior and the increasing deterioration of societal values and norms.
“The escalating wave of crime and criminality such as banditry, kidnapping, armed robbery, militancy, terrorism and other forms of societal decay which are challenges confronting us today are rooted in the pervasive consumption of drugs,” he emphasised.
Highlighting that the challenge is further compounded by the ever-increasing number of psychoactive substances of abuse and use of prescription drugs such as tramadol, cough syrup with codeine, rohypnol and the locally blended skushi drink by youths between 18 and 35 years, he bemoaned, “This has become worrisome, indeed”.
