By Ayodele Oni, Akure
Ondo state office of the National Drugs Law Enforcement Agency, (NDLEA) has disclosed that no fewer that 150 hard drug suspects were arrested between January and yesterday (Friday).
According to a breakdown released by the office, a total of 7, 702.114kg of hard drugs, comprising 7, 653.445kg of cannabis sativa, 48.669kg of psychotropic substances and 0.06grams of cocaine were seized within the same period.
Briefing Journalists in Akure as part of activities to mark the international day against drug abuse and illicit trafficking, with the theme: “Better Knowledge For Better Care, the commander, Mr Haruna Gagara
said among the 150 suspects arrested, 138 of them were males, while the remaining 12 were females.
Mr. Haruna emphasized that the need to mitigate the impact of drug abuse and illicit trafficking on the health and security of the citizenry.
He identified drug abuse as one of the reasons for “the current high rate of rape in the country, fueling the rise in cases of this nature, therefore, the need for cooperation cannot be overemphasized.”
Mr. Haruna, who disclosed that among the seizures made during the period in view, 65 bags of cannabis sativa were seized on Friday at Agunla area of Ogbese in Akure North Local Government Area of the state.
“If we must enjoy a drug free and healthy society devoid of crime, it is imperative that families, government, communities, non governmental organizations, civil society organizations, religious organizations should take necessary steps to counter the rising drug problems in our country,” he added.
The Commander disclosed that the cannabis sativa planters used government forest reserves to cultivate the illicit drug. This, according to him, has made it difficult for the agency to easily track them.
He, therefore, solicited for the assistance of the people to inform the agency whenever they see such plantations anywhere, including forest reserves, while he emphasized on enlightenment programmes to discourage the youths from indulging in illicit drug consumption and trafficking.
Nevertheless, the agency is faced with logistics problems, particularly inadequate vehicles and insufficient funds, which the commander said undermined their spate of operations.
