NDLEA arrests 500 suspects, seizes illicit drugs in Oyo, Taraba

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) yesterday announced the arrest of 500 suspects and seizure of tonnes of hard drugs in Oyo and Taraba states last year.

In Oyo, the agency disclosed that a total of 2.7kg of the illicit product was seized in 2016 while 255 persons were arrested for various drug-related offences in the state.

The agency also stated that 51 persons were convicted between January and December last year.

And in Taraba, the state command of the NDLEA said it arrested about 245 peddlers of illicit drugs in 2016.

The state commandant of the agency, Ishaku Yusuf Kwajafa, who was represented by the public relations officer, Peter Achibong, at a press briefing, said the suspects were arrested following information provided by the public.

According to him, 53 suspects were convicted during the period while 57 others were reunited with their families after rehabilitation.

“Unlike other states where Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps have been turned to dens for drug peddlers, this is not the case in Taraba, as officers and men of the command have been drafted to check drug addicts from infiltrating those places,” he said.

In a statement in Ibadan on the activities of the agency last year, the spokesperson, Mutiat Okuwobi, disclosed that the NDLEA also destroyed 68 hectares of land used for cultivating banned drugs.

“Our campaign against drug abuse and trafficking in the state is yielding positive results.