• NDLEA seizes N2.8m drugs, 140 couriers
NINE persons, including a former Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Louis Ogbeha, are still being held in the custody of the Bayelsa State Police Command five weeks after their arrest.

The command had on December 17, 2015 arraigned the SSG, Ebilade John, Timi Denson, Denghanbofa Agbodobiri, Kpari Wonyin Brakere-Emi, Fezi Bisho, Emomotimu Oshondu, Kesiye, Eberebo and Samuel Flag before a Magistrate’s Court for alleged unlawful possession of five AK 47 rifles at Oporoma in Southern Ijaw Local Council during the December 6, 2015 governorship election in the state.

Meanwhile, the state Command of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) arrested 140 drug traffickers and seized 404.411 kilogrammes of assorted narcotics last year.

The agency’s Principal Staff Officer, Public Affairs, Ikenna Osakwe who made the disclosure in a statement in Yenagoa, said the number comprised 124 males and 16 females.

Osakwe noted that majority of the suspects were between the ages of 24 and 45 years.
“Pertaining to drug exhibits, a total of 404.411 kilogrammes of various types of drugs were recovered and seized.
“Precisely, Cannabis Sativa accounted for 400.683kg, cocaine 0.062kg, heroin 0.033kg and psychotropic substances 3.633kg.
“Furthermore, 16 litres of Combine, aka ‘goskorine’, ‘monkey tail’ or ‘mukite’, a mixture of Cannabis Sativa and alcohol were also seized. It is worthy of note that N189,370 monetary exhibit was also seized in the year under review. The total value of the drugs seized was N2,839,959.95,” the image-maker stated.

On the prosecution of suspects, he said 27 convictions were secured while the rest cases are at various stages of adjudication.
Osakwe added that in the period under review, 96 drug addicts were counselled in the Drug Demand Reduction Unit of the command, adding that of the number, 27 persons successfully completed the three-month mandatory exercise while 12 are still undergoing the process.

A further breakdown revealed that 86 of them were males and the rest females, stressing that 67 drug preventive education lectures/advocacy talks were carried out at various fora and venues in markets, schools, motor parks, communities, youth groups, churches and mosques.

Osakwe also said public enlightenment materials were also distributed during the command’s public enlightenment programmes to sensitise the populace on the dangers of drug trafficking and abuse as well as to teach intervention techniques for already drug-dependent persons.