Agency arrests 121 suspects, seizes 136.6kgs of drugs in 4 months

The Jigawa Command of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), says it has arrested 121 suspects and recovered 136.6 kilograms of assorted illicit drugs between January 2016 and April 2018.

The spokesman of the command, Mr Ankeli Adah, disclosed this in a statement in Dutse on Thursday.

Adah said the command had also seized two locally fabricated revolver pistols and one cut-to-size revolver rifle with five rounds of live ammunition within the period under review.

“In our continuous efforts to make Jigawa drug-free and contain other criminalities, our aggressive motorised patrol and enforcement duties have intercepted different classes of hard drugs, illegal firearms and ammunition.

“From January to April 2018, a total of 121 suspects were arrested and a total of 136.6 kgs of hard drugs were seized,” he said.

The spokesman added that in January 2018, 35 suspects were arrested for different categories of drug related offences, saying exhibit recovered from the suspects are: 14.9kgs of Cannabis Stavia; 12.8kgs of Tramadol tablet; 283kgs of Diazapam tablet and 171.6kgs of Exol syrup.

According to him, 17 out of the 35 suspects arrested in January were found to be users, and were referred to the command’s Drug Demand Reduction Unit (DDRU) for counseling.

He said that 39 suspects were arrested in February with 18.4kgs of Cannabis Stavia; 14.4kgs of Tramadol tablet; 69.2g of Diazapam tablet and 132.2kgs of Exol syrup; where 29 of the suspects were found to be users and were also referred to DDRU for counseling.

“In the month of March, 19 persons were arrested with the following hard drugs: Cannabis Sativa 2.9kg; Tramadol 2.1kg; Diazapam 247.5g and Exol 169.1kg.

“And in the month of April, 28 persons were arrested with the following hard drugs; Cannabis Sativa 6.2kg; Tramadol 507.2g; Diazapam 225.5g and Exol 35g,” Adah said.

He added that 45 out of the 121 arrested suspects were successfully convicted at Federal High Court, Dutse, and 61 of the suspects referred to DDRU for counseling on dangers of drug abuse and trafficking.

The spokesman further noted that the command also delivered 24 lectures on the consequences of drug abuse and trafficking in various schools and work places across the state within the period under review.

“We solicit the support of the members of the society and the state in general to furnish the NDLEA office with relevant information about drug dealers and their activities within the state in order to ensure the security, peace and well-being of everyone,” he added.