The Nation Newspaper

Tag: National Drug Law and Enforcement Agency (NDLEA)

  • LAUTECH to assist NDLEA combat abuse of drugs

    The management of Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), Ogbomoso, has offered to join the National Drug Law and Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) in its fight against drug abuse, especially among youths.

    LAUTECH’s Vice-Chancellor, Prof Michael Ologunde, made the promise while hosting the agency’s Area Commander in Ogbomoso, Mr, Aminu Yusuff Ahmed, and his team.

    Ologunde said the nation could no longer continue to watch the future of its youths get destroyed by drug abuse.

    Read also: NDLEA nabs 250 drug suspects in Kano

    Promising to support the NDLEA and the Drug Free Club of the university to educate students on the dangers of drug abuse on their careers, The vice-chancellor said LAUTECH would henceforth make it mandatory for intending leaders of the students’ union to undergo drug tests before they are certified qualified to contest for various positions.

    Ahmed told the vice-chancellor about the high prevalence of drug abuse in Oyo State and Ogbomoso.

    He said students were responsible for the high figures the agency was contending with.

    “We will appreciate your making use of our counselling and rehabilitation centres as a means of recovering anybody arrested from the path of peril,” Ahmed said.

     

  • NDLEA seize ton of illicit drugs, nab 324 suspects in Abia

    NDLEA seize ton of illicit drugs, nab 324 suspects in Abia

    The Abia State Command of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) said that the agency seized about a ton of illicit drugs in the state. This is even as it said that it arrested 324 drug addicts within the state.

    The State Commander of NDLEA, Akingbade Bamidele is a chat with journalists in Aba, the commercial nerve of the state while reviewing the activities of the command in 2017 said that out of the 324 suspects, 304 were males while 20 were females.

    According to him, 24 persons underwent rehabilitation in their facility, while they secured 53 convictions, adding that other cases are still ongoing in various High Courts in the state.

    He further disclosed that the agency counseled and released 78 drug suspects arrested at various drug joints in the state and later handed over to their family members.

    The NDLEA boss who said that the agency was working to secure court order to set ablaze about 6tons of exhibits in the facility whose cases have been concluded stated that they would not be relenting on their oars in nipping the activities of drug merchants and addicts in various notorious drug spots in the state in the bud.

    Akingbade who thanked other sister security agencies especially authorities of the 14Brigade, Ohafia for their support while they raided villages such as Arochukwu, Okonu Ohafia respectively where some drug barons were smashed however, lamented the activities of some youths and village leaders who shield drug dealers in their community from being arrested by its personnel during their raids.

    Expressing worries over the high rate of drug abuse among the youths who he accused of combining depressants and stimulants as substitutes for cocaine before committing all manner of crimes including armed robbery, rape, kidnapping etc said that they were going to establish drug-free clubs in schools to ensure that they educate the youths on the dangers of using hard drugs, adding that they would be establishing their outposts at strategic places to ensure that the war on the sale and consumption of illicit drugs in the state was total.

    The NDLEA boss who said that the agency would continue to engage patent drug dealers in a roundtable discussion on the need to sell drugs to only the people with drug prescription from qualified and approved physicians warned youths against consuming illegal and prohibited drugs.

    He called on the state and federal government to come to their aides, adding that with the provision of adequate logistics, the agency would do more in its fight against illicit drugs.

  • Drug traffickers make $320billion yearly, says NDLEA

    Drug traffickers make $320billion yearly, says NDLEA

    …Over 70,000 suspects arrested in two years

     

    A drug trafficking syndicate generates $320billion, approximately N115.2trillion annually, the National Drug Law and Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) said Tuesday.

    This is just as the agency said it arrested a total of 77,558 persons for drug trafficking between 2015 and last year.

    NDLEA’s Chairman, Muhammad Abdallah stated this at a-day seminar organised by the Crime Reporters Association of Nigeria (CRAN) to commemorate the International Day Against Drug and Human Trafficking.

    Abdallah, who was represented by Kayode Adeniyi, described drug trafficking as the most lucrative business, noting that its high profit was a motivating factor for the traffickers.

    The event which held at the Renaissance Hotel, Isaac John, Ikeja, was attended by senior police officers, operatives of the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS), National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons  (NAPTIP) and private security practioners, among others.

    Abdallah said: “The NDLEA first discovered a methamphetamine laboratory at Maza-Maza area of Lagos in 2011 and till date 12 other laboratories have been discovered in Lagos, Anambra and Delta States.

    “Of the arrested 77,558 drug traffickers, 72,735 are males and 4,823 females. So, you can see that the business of drug trafficking is not gender based.

    “It is very painful that Nigeria has been implicated as a source, transit and destination point for drugs and human trafficking.”

    According to Abdallah, all hands must be on deck to check the menace, urging other security agencies to corporate by sharing intelligence.

    Earlier, the chairman of the event, Wale Olaoye noted that human trafficking would surpass illegal arms sale if nothing was done to contain it.

    Olaoye, who is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Halogen Security said: “We are looking to change the narratives as Nigeria tops other countries in production and seizure of hard drugs. Nigeria also has the highest number of persons serving jail terms for drug offenses in the world which should be of great concern to us.

    “The laws governing human and drug trafficking needs to be made stiffer because fines no longer make them effective to check the menace. There is need for a robust and effective border control system.”

    In his remark, the Commissioner of Police (CP) Fatai Owoseni called for an overhaul of the adoption system currently in place.

    Represented by the Area D Commander, Akinbayo Olasuji, an Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) called for attitudinal change.

    According to him, there was a department in the police that handles cases of abandoned children and illegal adoption.

    NAPTIP’s representative, Mrs. Kehinde Akomolafe said: “Human trafficking is a crime that cannot be committed by one person but syndicates. It is similar to money laundering and drug trafficking.

    “Sometimes, the victims see the trafficker as their benefactor, which is a major challenge and NAPTIP has set up nine zonal offices across the country to checkmate the menace.

    “Human trafficking is an evil that can be contained through collaboration with transit and destination countries.”

    Akomolafe disclosed that the law against human trafficking has been reviewed, adding that the fine option has been removed and provision made for the proceeds of trafficking to go into a Trust Fund for victims.

    NIS’ representative, Comptroller Odutola Fashakin said: “Our officers are trained to reject passport requests from suspected traffickers. Surveillance has also increased at our 774 offices and we are collaborating with other security agencies. We have signed MoU with some countries to check the menace of human trafficking.”

    A guest lecturer, Segun Adegoke said the NIS was implementing effective policy measures to check the control of persons in out of the country.

    Adegoke, a Passport Control Officer (PSO) said: “Also for effective border management, surveillance had increased and a new border patrol has been established to partner with security agencies to check human trafficking.

    “Officers are trained to check irregular migrants and we sometimes inspect hotels. We have deportees’ bio data.”

    Speaking on the spate of baby factories, Frank Mba, an ACP said: “Baby factory as a form of human trafficking is thriving locally and internationally and it is a major concern.

    “This is usually as a result of stigmatization of teenage and pregnancies gotten out of wedlock.

    We need to check the demand/ supply chain and also sensitize people that teenage pregnancy is not a crime against humanity.

    “Government should subsidize fertility treatment and streamline adoption in the country.”

     

  • Customs alerts on expired rice at border posts

    Customs alerts on expired rice at border posts

    The Nigerian Customs Service(NCS), on Tuesday, said that most rice smuggled through Idiroko, Seme, Jibia and other border stations had expired.

    The Customs Controller, Federal Operations Unit (F.O.U.) Ikeja, Comptroller Mamudu Haruna, who disclosed this in Lagos, said the public should be very careful in patronising the smuggled commodity.

    The controller said that those eating such smuggled rice were damaging their systems.

    He said some of the expired rice had been impounded by officers and men of the service and kept in the warehouses.

    The importation of rice through the border stations was banned in April 2017.

    Haruna said smuggling of rice had become so rampant that youths risked their lives on motorcycles carrying five to six bags each.

    He said that other devices used included transporting between 35 to 50 bags in smaller trucks.

    Haruna said there was no way one could get a good rice consignment with the appropriate price from the smugglers, except the ones brought through the seaports.

    The comptroller said, “ for plastic rice, I am yet to come across the plastic rice.’’

    To curb smuggling, he said that the service had intensified operations at various bonded terminals and warehouses to ensure compliance with the extant laws.

    “To this end, about six warehouses in Lagos that have contravened the laws are under customs seal and pending a thorough investigation,’’ He was quoted as saying.

    The controller said that one of the sealed warehouses contained 23,000 bags of rice and 44,000 empty bags for re-bagging.

    He also showed a detained cement company’s vehicle, (name withheld) containing both cement and rice but for smuggling rice.

    Haruna said that between October and November, the unit intercepted various contraband with a Duty Paid Value (DPV) of N325.53million.

    He said the unit also recovered N286.62million from duty payments and demand notices on vehicles and other general goods that tried to beat the system from seaports, airports and border stations.

    “In the guise of false declaration, transfer of value and shortchange in duty payment that is meant for the Federal Government.

    “Making a cumulative of N611.67 million in the months of October and November 2016, ‘’ NAN quotes Haruna as saying.

    According to the controller, in the months under review, 210 different seizures were recorded comprising vegetable oil, foreign parboiled rice, frozen poultry products, smuggled vehicles, Indian hemp and various general merchandise.

    Haruna said that 77 suspects were apprehended, out of which 17 suspects had already been charged to court for prosecution and four suspects had been convicted but on Appeal at the Appeal Court, Lagos.

    He said that other suspects, mostly drivers, not culpable had been released on bail.

    The controller said that 1,300 parcels of Indian hemp with three suspects had also been handed over to the National Drug Law and Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Lagos State Command for prosecution to serve as a deterrent to other drug barons.