NDLEA Arrest more than 20,000 drug traffickers in the last two years

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) said it has arrested a total of 20,483 drug traffickers in the last two years.

The Media Director, Femi Baba Femi, who disclosed this during an interactive session with reporters on Thursday in Abuja

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) said it has arrested a total of 20,483 drug traffickers in the last two years.

The agency said its operatives arrested 2,598 offenders involved in cannabis sativa cultivation and trafficking. Another 1,000 suspects were also apprehended.

He said that most of those arrested were convicted and sentenced to different prison terms ranging from seven years to life imprisonment while some have been acquitted by NAB courts due to lack of evidence sufficing for prosecution.

Femi also added that NDLEA has embarked on a massive publicity campaign through radio stations across Nigeria as part of its strategy to sensitize Nigerians against drug abuse.

“Between 2020 and 2022, we have arrested 20,483 drug traffickers and we have commenced the trial of 24,000 suspects. For example, some 1,000 suspects have been prosecuted while some are in the court process.

The NDLEA boss said no fewer than 1.3 million people were educated on harmful effects of illicit drugs across Nigeria through awareness campaign during the period under review.

He added that this was possible because the agency had trained over 10,000 personnel to ensure the success of its operations, including the deployment of intelligence officers to gather information about drug traffickers and their activities in order to mount successful raids against them.

He added that no fewer than 581 students were engaged as NDLEA Youth Ambassadors to educate their peers on dangers of drug abuse in Nigeria. The youth ambassadors have been tasked with identifying drug traffickers and reporting them to the appropriate authorities, he said.

I believe strongly that Nigerians must come together to fight against this evil called drugs

I believe strongly that Nigerians must come together to fight against this evil called drugs. Drugs are a big problem in Nigeria and it has become a national security issue. The danger of drugs is not only to our health but also our economy as well as other aspects of daily life; they have taken over many lives and families.

In fact, it has been reported that Nigerians spend $8 billion annually on illegal substances like cocaine, heroin and marijuana alone! The effects of these substances can be devastating: addiction leads to poverty; street crime increases; HIV/AIDS spreads faster due to sharing needles among users who don’t know how harmful they really are; crime rates rise because people no longer trust each other after using drugs for so long without any consequences whatsoever – these are just some examples why we need to stop this problem before it gets worse!

Conclusion

I believe strongly that Nigerians must come together to fight against this evil called drugs. It is high time we put an end to this menace and restore the lost dignity of our nation by reducing the prevalence of drug abuse in our communities. We have a lot of work ahead of us, but if we all continue to work together as one nation, then we will definitely succeed in making Nigeria drug free zone.

NDLEA Arrest more than 20,000 drug traffickers in the last two years