NDLEA Arrests 262 Suspected Drug Peddlers

NDLEA Arrests 262 Suspected Drug Peddlers

By Adibe Emenyonu

The Edo State Command of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) yesterday said it had arrested 262 suspected drug traffickers and seized 15,253.82 kg of narcotics, including cannabis, cocaine, heroin and tramadol, last year.

The agency said those arrested are 180 males and 82 females, while 10 vehicles used in smuggling illicit drugs were also impounded, as well as the destruction of 15 cannabis plantation measuring 11.82 hectares in the year under review.

In addition, the anti-drug agency noted that 86 drug dependent persons were successfully counseled and reunited with their families, with eight drug traffickers convicted while 220 cases were pending at the Federal High Court as at December 31, 2020.

Commenting on the above operational scorecard in Benin-city, the state Commander, Mr. Buba Wakawa, said: “The command recorded the achievement despite the COVID-19 lockdown and the #EndSARS protest that led to the destruction of the Edo State Command headquarters.”

The commander added that various modes of drug concealments were adopted by drug barons, which included the use of silos, underground tunnels, cannabis warehouses as well as false compartments in trucks, buses and cars.

Buba, however, thanked the state Governor, Godwin Obaseki, for his prompt response in providing a temporary accommodation for the command following the destruction of the state command headquarters in Benin-city during the #EndSARS protest in October last year.

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