By Adedapo Adesanya
The chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Mr Buba Marwa, has described the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos as the epicentre of drug trafficking in Nigeria.
Mr Marwa, while speaking on Thursday, said this is based on the volume of drugs seized at the Lagos international airport since the beginning of the year.
He said, “Murtala Mohammed International Airport remains the epicentre of the spectacular seizures, including what stands today as the singular biggest seizure from an individual in 15 years, which was 26.840kg of cocaine smuggled from Brazil in January; 24.05 kg of heroin in April; 27.95 kg of cocaine in May, and 26.15kg of heroin in May.”
Mr Marwa, who was a guest at the Presidential Villa in Abuja today for the weekly briefings coordinated by Nigeria’s Presidential Media Team, stated that between January 25 and October 15, more than 2.7 million kilograms of illicit drugs have been seized by the operatives of the agency.
The NDLEA boss said the agency was working on a bill that will prescribe harsher penalties for drug traffickers in the country.
Mr Marwa said NDLEA was seeking a minimum of 15 years and a maximum of between 25 years and life sentences for anyone caught by its operatives indulging in drugs activities.
“As of October 15, the agency has recorded the following: 9, 355 arrested traffickers, including six drug barons, over 5,000 drug offences cases filed in court, over N100 billion worth of drugs and cash recovered, more than 2.7 million kilograms of assorted illicit drugs were seized in 10 months, 5,579 drug users were counselled and rehabilitated by NDLEA, a figure that gives a fair balance between our drug control and drug demand efforts,” Mr Marwa said.
The drug enforcement agency in recent months has moved to strengthen the war against drug abuse and trafficking with the addition of hundreds of newly trained narcotic assistants to the workforce of the agency.
It graduated Narcotic Assistants Course 3 of 2021, which is the largest of the cadre and the first-ever course in over 25 years.
To further signpost the agency’s efforts towards the War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) campaign aimed at the total eradication of illicit drugs and their effects in Nigeria, Mr Marwa noted that the country is prepared and determined to go after the assets of drug traffickers and barons in any part of the country.
