The Commander of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Oyo State, OlayinkaJoe-Fadipe, has said that the command succeeded in arresting 417 suspects involved in various illicit drug offences in 2023.
Joe-Fadile made this known at the presentation of annual performance figures and reports of the command.
The suspects, made up of 340 males and 77 females, were reportedly caught with drugs including Cannabis sativa, Tramadol, Diazepam, Rohypnol, Colorado, Ice, Arizona, codeine, a beverage mixed with cannabis sativa called Monkey Thailand and various other psychotropic substances.
The Commander, whose presentation was disclosed in a statement by the command’s spokeswoman, Mutiat Okuwobi, on Tuesday, said that a seizure of 3034.004kg (3.3 tonnes) of Cannabis sativa and other narcotic and psychotropic substances with a market value of N125,442,993 million was recorded during the period under review.
He stated further that during the year, the command discovered 1.865295 hectares of cannabis farm located at Ido and Akinyele Local Government Areas, while 4663.237kg (4.6 tonnes) of cannabis sativa with a market value of N10,259,121.40 million was also destroyed during the year 2023.
The commander thereby put the total seizure of about eight tonnes of various narcotics and psychotropic substances at a market value of ₦135,602,114.40 million.
He said that the command also charged 91 suspects comprising 82 males and nine females to court, with 54 of them convicted for various drug offences and slammed with jail terms ranging from six months to 10 years.
On drug demand reduction, the Commander of Narcotics said that the command gave brief intervention via counselling to over 246 people comprising 205 males and 41 females who use drugs (PWUD).
“During the period under review, 13 persons were rehabilitated and were integrated back to the society.
“The command also acquired a facility in Iseyin for the purpose of counselling and rehabilitation. efforts and while plans are underway to equip and re-purpose the facility as a Standard Rehabilitation Centre,” Joe-Fadipe stated.
He also spoke on the Command’s sensitisation programmes extended to over 233 schools and some private organisations as well as its participation in 59 radio programmes and some television programmes weekly throughout the year 2023.
He added that the Command carried out 60 voluntary substance abuse/drug tests, out of which nine persons tested positive for different abused substances.
Saying that efforts against drug abuse would need collective efforts to sanitise the society, the Commander called on state and local governments, as well as well-meaning Indigenes to join the NDLEA in task of ridding the state of drug abuse and trafficking.
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