Illicit drugs: Ondo NDLEA takes war to schools, markets

• 24.569kg Indian hemp seized in 6 months

From Bamigbola Gbolagunte, Akure

ondo State Command of the National Drugs Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), has taken its war against illicit drugs to major towns and cities in the state. This Is because of what the command termed as increasing rate of drug abuse.
The awareness and sensitization programme, which led officials of the NDLEA to all the 18 local government areas, also took them to secondary schools and markets in Akure. Its commander, Mr. Mohammad Sokoto, who expressed worry at the high rate of drug abuse, disclosed that plantations of cannabis sativa otherwise known as Indian hemp werte destroyed in different parts of the state by the command at different times.
He decried the level of drug abuse among secondary school students and youths, disclosing that the agency confiscated 24,596kg of Indian hemp and destroyed more than 37 hectares of drug farms in the last six months. Also, he revealed that 101 suspects were also arrested, out of which 16 were convicted to various jail terms.
The command, Sokoto said, seized five vehicles and two landed property used to traffic and conceal drugs in Akure. The owners of the landed property are already facing court trial.
He linked the upsurge in criminal activities in the state to high rate of drug abuse, adding that drug dealers in other parts of the country have hideouts in the state. This trend, he said the agency was tackling with sensitization programmes in 521 primary and secondary schools, including markets and other public places.
He warned drug dealers and illicit drug users to desist from such act or face the wrath of the law, stressing that the agency would not spare any individual in the discharge of its duties. He maintained that the state is no longer a hidden place for drug addicts, just as he called on traditional rulers and community leaders to warn their subjects against drug abuse.
The command had recently uncovered a building stocked with hundreds of bags of cannabis at Opopoola Street, Ayedun, Akure, with scores of young individuals arrested in the house.
The NDLEA also confiscated the house even as its men continue to lay siege on the premises of the building with a view to arresting those using the house for illicit act, especially drug abuse.
Sokoto said the consumption of Indian hemp was high among teenagers. He commended the state government on its efforts at eradicating drug business and consumption among the people. He said the NDLEA was working in partnership with government, which was already engaged in robust programmes of crop substitution for cannabis planters.
As a way of preventing drug abuse in the tertiary institutions, the NDLEA boss stated that the agency inaugurated the NDLEA Club in tertiary institutions. Members of the club were empowered with necessary apparatus and training to fight drug abuse.
Mr. Tajudeen Lolose, a trader, urged the NDLEA to make the exercise a continuous one to prevent the illicit act of drug abuse among the people. He enjoined the people to shun drugs, even as he urged those addicted to it to desist to live long and healthy.

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