NDLEA arrests 262 suspected illicit drug peddlers in Edo

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) in Edo says it arrested no fewer than 262 suspected drug traffickers in 2020.

Mr Buba Wakawa, Commander of the agency in Edo disclosed this on Wednesday in an interview with newsmen in Benin.

Wakawa said that the command seized about 15,253.82 kilogrammes of narcotics including cannabis, cocaine, heroin and tramadol within the year under review.

He explained that the suspects arrested included 180 males and 82 females.

The commander said that eight drug traffickers were convicted within the period with about 220 cases pending at the Federal High Court as at Dec. 31, 2020.

He further said that 15 suspected cannabis plantations measuring 11.82 hectares were identified and destroyed by the command within the period.

Wakawa said 10 vehicles used in smuggling illicit drugs were equally impounded within the period under review.

“In addition, 86 drug dependent persons were successfully counselled and reunited with their families”, he said.

Wakawa said that the achievements were recorded in spite of the COVID-19 lockdown and the End-SARS protest that led to the destruction of the state command headquarters.

He said that various modes of concealing drugs adopted by drug barons who included the use of silos, underground tunnels, and cannabis warehouses among others were frustrated by the command.

The commander thanked Gov. Godwin Obaseki of Edo for his prompt response in providing a temporary accommodation for the command.

He expressed optimism that the command would perform better in reducing the problem of drug trafficking and abuse in the state in 2021.