Breaking: NDLEA destroys 9.110 tons of illicit drugs in Abia

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) on Friday in Aba, the commercial nerve of Abia State carried out public destruction of seized drug exhibits by the Abia State Command of the federal government agency.

The exercise was carried out by the Governor of Abia State, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu who was assisted by the Chairman/Chief Executive of NDLEA; Col. Muhammad Abdallah (Rtd), heads of various security agencies among other dignitaries at the event.

Speaking at the event, Adballah who was listed among the illicit drugs to be destroyed to include 6,574.116kg of cannabis, 10.81kg of Heroin, 8.932kg of Cocaine and 2,516.394kg of psychotropic substances.

According to the NDLEA Boss, the federal government agency is happy that such an amount of illicit drugs were intercepted by officers of its agency under the Abia Command and as such, preventing the drugs from having their way into the society, stating that the havoc it would have created if it had its way into the state would have being better imagined than experienced.

“Drugs, like poison, need not to be in large volumes before doing the incalculable damage. We have to be unrelenting because the criminals illicitly dealing in drugs are unrelenting as they go to all extent in the pursuit of money at the detriment of the security of the lives and property across the country.”

Continuing, Abdallah who added that the agency would do everything within its powers in order to ensure that the entrepreneurial heritage of the people of the state doesn’t come under the threat of drug abuse and illicit trafficking in drugs, noted that nothing diminishes productivity as much as illicit drug trafficking.

The NDLEA boss who attributed the get-rich quick syndrome and depletion of manpower to illicit trafficking of drugs said that beside the security and safety concerns associated with illicit drug trafficking, it is however worrisome over the rate of youth population that buy, sell and consume narcotics and psychotropic substances.

He also lamented the proliferation of what he described as clandestine laboratories manufacturing Methamphetamine locally, leading to the prevalence of the abuse of substances by the youths.

He thanked the Governor of Abia State, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu and his wife, including heads of sister security agencies over the roles that they have played in collaborating with personnel of the agency in their war against drug abuse.

In his speech, the Governor of the state represented by his deputy, Dr. Ude Oko Chukwu noted that no society develops under atmosphere of chaos, terrorism, banditry, armed robbery and kidnapping which he stated were crimes committed by youths who indulged in the consumption of hard and illicit drugs.

Oko Chukwu said that the involvement of the state government in the fight against illicit drugs in the state underscores the commitment of the state government in ensuring that the state is free from hard and illicit drugs and to entrench sanity in the state.

While calling for all hands to be on deck in the fight against sale and consumption of hard and illicit drugs in the state, the Abia State Deputy Governor promised that the state would continue to join hands with NDLEA and the federal government in the war against illicit drugs in the state and commended the agency in the state for such a feat.

The Abia State Commander of NDLEA in the state, Mr. Akingbade Bamidele said that the 9,110.252kg of drugs to be destroyed were seized between 2018 and 2020.

“The exhibit destruction exercise of 9,110.25kg tons of seized drugs by officers and men of this command provides us with the unique opportunity to prove to our guest and teeming public the extent of successes recorded in our counter narcotics operations in the state,” said Bamidele