NDLEA arrests 20 in Onitsha

Okodili Ndidi, Onitsha - 04.03.2008

THE Anambra State command of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested 20 suspected drug traffickers in the state and seized over 350kg of Indian hemp.

The state Commander of NDLEA, Mr. Ibrahim Abdul, disclosed this to newsmen at the command headquarters in Onitsha, saying that some of the suspects had since been charged to court while others were still in their custody pending investigations.

According to him, after the burning of hard substances of over 3100kg, drug related crimes in the state had drastically reduced, adding that the increase in the influx of drugs into the state was due to the strategic location of the state, which has made it a transit point for drug couriers in other Southeast states.

Abdul disclosed that the major impediment to the agency's anti-drug war was the lack of functional vehicles and other equipment, stating that the whole of the command had just one vehicle for official assignments.

“There was a time our vehicle broke down on the road, after intercepting hard substances of about 500kg and my men had to push the vehicle till they got to a safe location, and there was another time my men were almost lynched by an angry mob after arresting some drug peddlers and our vehicle broke down in the process. The entire Anambra State command of NDLEA only one vehicle which is not functioning properly,” he lamented.

While atrributing the success of the agency in recent time to the oversight funtion of men of the Nigeria Customs, Abdul maintained that the war against crime could not be won if security agencies were not properly equiped.

He maintained that the fight against crime in Anambra State and in Nigeria would come to naught if drug trafficking and addiction were not tackled effectively.