Chairman National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, Buba Marwa has said 5, 147 drug offenders, including 35 drug barons, have been successfully prosecuted and convicted in the past two and half years.
This was even as he disclosed that within the period, 31, 675 were also arrested for drug-related offenses.
Marwa, represented by the Agency’s Secretary, Shedrack Haruna, made the disclosure at a briefing to announce the flag off of activities to mark the 2023 United Nation, UN, Day Against Drug Abuse and Trafficking of Illicit Drugs on Tuesday.
He said: “In the past two and half years, we have strengthened our law enforcement efforts to cut down on the supply of drugs in society. In 29 months, we have arrested 31, 675 drug offenders, including 35 barons; successfully prosecuted and got convicted 5,147 of them, and over 11,000 other cases still pending in court, while 23,725 drug users had been counseled and rehabilitated, majority of them through brief interventions.
“At least 6.3 million kilograms of various illicit substances have been recovered in response to our efforts to sweep up drugs and shut down the distribution channels. We have destroyed 852.142 hectares of cannabis farms and dismantled three clandestine methamphetamine laboratories. I can assure you that even as we speak, NDLEA agents are busy with interdiction activities somewhere.”
