NDLEA Secures Conviction For 35 Drug Traffickers

Akwa Ibom’s command of the National Drug Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) said it had secured convictions for 35 of the 353 drug suspects arrested in the past five months.

Ms. Obot Bassey, the NDLEA state commander, revealed this when she spoke with the Nigeria News Agency (NAN) in Uyo on Tuesday.
Bassey said the 353 suspects consisted of 307 men and 46 women.

She said that apart from the 35 convictions obtained, several cases were still pending and were being prosecuted at different stages in the courts.
The commander added that a total of 602,307 kg of drugs were seized during the period, which included; Cannabis sativa, cocaine, heroin and other psychotropic substances.

She said efforts should be a priority to raise awareness of the devastating consequences of drug abuse and illicit trafficking on young people and society.

“The NDLEA Akwa Ibom command made a lot of arrests and seizures between July and today, we have in our kitty 602,307kg of hard drugs and psychotropic substances. We also seized 600,000 N counterfeit money and transferred it to the EFCC

We also transferred around 100 live ammunition to the police and arrested a total of 353 suspects, including 307 men and 46 women, ”Bassey said.

The commander added that apart from arrests and seizures during the period, the command rehabilitated 11 drug addicts to return them to a normal life.

She revealed that a new drug, crystal meth, the short form of crystal methamphetamine, had been discovered in the state.
“It is interesting to find out that there is crystal meth in Akwa Ibom, we seized 0.54 kg of crystal methamphetamine.

“Meanwhile, Crystal meth is one of the worst hard drugs to be addicted to because it affects the central nervous system.
“It’s very difficult to rehabilitate, although we can be, but it’s hard. It destroys an individual and most of the time it is difficult for such an individual to return to their original state once dependent, ”she said.

She said the command would continue to educate young people against drug abuse and drug trafficking.
The commander called on the state government, philanthropists and all individuals to partner with NDLEA to reduce drug abuse and trafficking to the bare minimum in the state.

“So, I want to call on the Governor, His Excellency, Commissioners, philanthropists, institutions and organizations to come together to reduce drug abuse and trafficking to its bare minimum.

“So, that we don’t have junkies in our state, but people with notable qualities in our society.
“We have what we call drug testing kits. If someone is on drugs, all we have to do is give us your urine in a container and within seconds the result will show up and show us what kind of drug is being abused, ”she declared.

The commander called on all residents of Akwa Ibom to remain drug-free in order to achieve optimal health, safety and security for sustained growth in socio-economic development and general well-being.