NDLEA Arrests 3,539 Suspects, Recovers 65,916kgs Drugs in Four Months

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) yesterday said it arrested over 3,539 suspects and recovered 65,916 kilograms of assorted illicit drugs within the first quarter of this year.

NDLEA Chairman, Brigadier General Buba Marwa (rtd), made this disclosure at the Western Naval Command (WNC), Apapa, Lagos, while receiving two Epenal boats donated to the agency by the Nigerian Navy (NN) to boost its war against drug abuse.

Marwa, who was represented by NDLEA Director, Seaport Operations, Mrs. Omolade Faboyade, said the agency broke its first quarter operational record with the arrests which included that of a “rogue security personnel and a well-known billionaire baron”.

According to Marwa, given the agency’s commitment to contain proliferation of drugs in the country, security organisations can no longer afford to work in silos.

He stressed that illicit drug trafficking, as a transnational organised crime, require the deployment of intelligence and close-knit with key stakeholders like the navy and other security organisations.

He said: “In our effort to stem the ride of narcotic drugs, we have gone the extra mile and that includes the pursuit of synergy with organisations in the security sector.

“So far, our efforts in one year showed that the strategy is effective. In 2022, we recorded the arrest of more than 12,300 suspected drug offenders, including seven drug barons with 1,400 traffickers jailed.

“We were able to counsel and rehabilitate 8,000 drug users and in the same period, also, we mopped up over 3.4 million kilograms of assorted drugs. Interestingly, drugs and illicit proceeds of drug crime worth over N130 billion were successfully recovered.