Francis Sardauna in Katsina
The Katsina State command of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has said it has arrested 182 suspected drug traffickers in the state between January and April, 2019.
The state commandant of the agency, Hajiya Maryam Gambo, stated this yesterday during the inauguration of the command’s rehabilitation center in Katsina, built by the state government.
She said 113 of the apprehended suspects were males, while 49 were females and the remaining 20 suspects were students of tertiary institutions and secondary schools across the state.
According to her, “During the arrest, we seized 66.11 kilograms of cannabis sativa, 15,696.5 grams of psychotropic substances and 38 bottles of cough syrup with codeine. We secured conviction for 46 suspects during the period, while 131 drug users were counseled.”
While admonishing the state government to involve rehabilitated drug addicts in its skills acquisition programmes to assuage their plight, the NDLEA boss said the agency would not relent in its war against drug traffickers in the state.
Governor Aminu Masari represented by his Deputy, Mannir Yakubu, told the gathering that the state government had spent N41 million for the construction of the centre, calling on NDLEA to use the centre to mitigate drug related cases.
The governor urged traditional rulers, civil society organisations, and religious leaders in the state to collaborate with the NDLEA to rid the country out of what he described as deadly threat.
Earlier, the wife of the State Governor, Dr. Hadiza Masari, solicited the collaboration of critical stakeholders to fight against drug abuse, saying the ugly phenomenon should be the concern of all and sundry.
“The traffickers of drug live in our midst as neighbours, children, friends, students, school mates and spouses. Therefore, women as mothers should be more vigilant by closely monitoring the activities of their children”, she added.
