3,988.74 kilograms of various drugs with a street value of N80 million have been seized by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency’s Federal Capital Territory command.
This was revealed in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria on Monday in Abuja by the Commander of Narcotics for the FCT, Kabir Tsakuwa.
Tsakuwa claimed that 134 alleged drug users, dealers, and traffickers were also detained during this time.
He listed a number of different drugs, including cannabis sativa, cocaine, methamphetamine, tramadol, rohypnol, and diazepam.
Cannabis sativa was the main substance seized by NDLEA agents, he continued, adding that many suspects were tried and found guilty during the same time frame.
He asserts that during the same time frame, 3,861.789kg of cannabis sativa was seized while 0.038kg of cocaine was seized.
Other substances include diazepam, which weighs 13.63 kg, tramadol, which weighs 105 point136 kg, methamphetamine, which weighs 3 point024 kg, pentazocine, which weighs 1 point070 kg.
“134 suspected drug users and traffickers were detained in the third quarter, with 128 of them being men and six being women.
“The total street value of the drugs that were seized during the same time period is about N80 million.
“One hundred and four (104) suspects were prosecuted, out of which 27 were convicted, ” he said.
Speaking on what the command had been doing to ensure the reduction of usage and trafficking of illicit drugs in the FCT, the NDLEA boss said that the Command had a balanced approach to drug control strategy.
This, he said, was via drug demand reduction and drug supply reduction as they both complemented each other.
According to him, the supply reduction strategy focused on enforcement duties, whereas demand reduction was aimed at preventive measures.
He declared, “Under the preventive strategy, we have an ongoing, intensive program of public education and sensitization built on the “War Against Drug Abuse” platform.
Tsakuwa said that WADA was a social advocacy campaign designed to get every Nigerian involved in the task of ridding the country of illicit substances. ”.
”We organised programmes in schools, corporate organisations, religious places of worship (Mosques and Churches), etc. to ensure involvement of all stakeholders.
“We collaborate with quite a number of Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and other stakeholders to carry out sensitisation.
“We also provide support systems for drug-dependent individuals through counselling at our rehabilitation centre, which is manned by well-learned counselling experts.
“Clients are counselled for a period of three, six and 12 months depending on the level of addiction of the individual.
“Under Supply reduction, we embark on the arrest of drug offenders, investigation and prosecution, ” he said.
NAN
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