The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, says it arrested 31,675 drug offenders and convicted 5,147 between 2021 and 2023 .
The NDLEA added that over 6.3 million kilogrammes of assorted drugs were seized in the last 29 months.
The Chairman of the NDLEA, Buba Marwa disclosed this on Monday during a joint press briefing with the country representative of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Oliver Stolpe, to flag off weeklong activities marking the 2023 World Drug Day.
Marwa represented by Secretary of the NDLEA, Shadrach Haruna said, “In the past two and a half years, we have strengthened our law enforcement efforts to cut down on the supply of drugs in society.
” In 29 months, we have arrested 31,675 drug offenders, including 35 barons; successfully prosecuted and convicted 5,147 of them; and over 11,000 other cases still pending in court, while 23,725 drug users have been counselled and rehabilitated, the majority of them through brief interventions.
“At least 6.3 million kilogrammes of various illicit substances have been recovered in response to our efforts to sweep up drugs and shut down the distribution channels. We have destroyed 852.142 hectares of cannabis farms and dismantled three clandestine methamphetamine laboratories. I can assure you that even as we speak, NDLEA agents are busy with interdiction activities somewhere.”
In his remark, Stolpe emphasised the benefits of international cooperation in criminal justice matters, with the specific target of dismantling trafficking networks involved in the terrible trade.
“Long overdue is the need to make sure that the public and primary healthcare providers are better prepared to take basic drug counselling needs, knowing how to deal with people suffering from drug use disorders,” Mr Stolpe said while commending the NDLEA for the successes recorded so far in the fight against substance abuse and illicit drug trafficking in Nigeria.
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