The operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested 23, 907 drug traffickers, including 29 barons in Nigeria in the last 22 months.

The NDLEA Chairman, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retd), said this during the Commands Awards and decoration of newly promoted officers at the agency’s headquarters in Abuja on Tuesday.

“Our seizure was over 5,500 tons or 5.5 million kilograms of assorted illicit drugs, which together with cash seized are worth over N450 billion.

“In the same period, we have taken the fight to the doorsteps of cannabis growers by destroying 772. 5 hectares of cannabis farms. In these 22 months, we have record convictions of 3, 434 offenders.

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“We have equally made good strides in our drug demand reduction efforts where the number of those counselled and rehabilitated is 16, 114.

“The figures are mere statistics until you view them through the lens of human impact and the good or harm that could have come to society, the impact on public health, security as well as law and order if those dangerous drugs had gone to the street.

“Take, for instance, the 100 million pills of tramadol seized in the past 22 months. If those pills had gone into circulation and ended up in the hands of young people, it would take a heavy toll on lives, families, productivity, and ultimately, the GDP of the country because it will affect these young people who are the engine room of productivity,” Marwa was quoted as saying in a statement issued on Tuesday by the NDLEA spokesman, Femi Babafemi.

Justifying the essence of the ceremony, Marwa said there was no gainsaying that the NDLEA officers’ dedication to duty has been the driving force behind their good performance.

The Star