The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has disclosed that in an attempt to reduce illicit drug trafficking and abuse across Nigeria, no less than 677 traffickers have been convicted and sentenced to various jail terms between January and March 2022, with a total of 3,359 arrests and 65,915.891 kilograms of assorted drugs seized within the same period.
Director, Media and Advocacy of NDLEA, Femi Babafemi, made this known in a statement issued on Wednesday, stating that no fewer than 2,223 drug users were also counseled through brief interventions and rehabilitated in NDLEA facilities across the country in the first quarter of the year.
It was reported that Lagos has the highest figure of drug seizures with 22,192.62 kilograms of illicit substances recovered from parts of the state, followed by the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, MMIA, Command, Ikeja, also in Lagos, with 8,979.869kg of drugs seized between Jan and March, while Kano and Kaduna led the pack in the arrests of offenders with 194 arrests each within the same period.
While a total of 257 hectares of cannabis farms were destroyed in forests across Ondo state, 14.869 hectares suffered same fate in Edo and one hectare destroyed in Bayelsa state within the same period.
The report also revealed the breakdown of the drugs seized within the first quarter of the year shows cannabis leading the table in January with 8,205.75kg; followed by Codeine -414.281kg; Diazepam -192.459kg; Tramadol -135.067kg; Rophynol -43.062kg and Cocaine -24.32kg. In February, Cannabis also topped the list of seizures with 20,538.79kg; Codeine -1,848.052kg; Tramadol -540.354kg; Diazepam -137.041kg; Rophynol -80.261kg; Cocaine -15.727kg; Methamphetamine – 6.207kg and Heroin – 4.006kg.
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