The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Rivers State Command says it’s battle ready to smoke out drug dealers and ensure that drug consumption and sale would be drastically reduced.
Speaking in a telephone interview, the Assistant Commander of Narcotics who doubles as Public Affairs Officer in NDLEA, Rivers State Command, Mr Emmanuel Ogbumgbada, said: “NDLEA is making every effort to ensure that drug abuse and trafficking is drastically reduced and so we are putting in every effort” to ensure that this is achieved.
Meanwhile the agency last week carried out a raid on a notorious drug joint at Trailer Park in Onne and arrested four suspects with a total of one thousand and eighty-five point six kilogrammes (1,085.6kg) of assorted hard drugs and psychotropic substances.
During the raid operatives of the agency dismantled shanties and shades which had served as smoking joints and hideouts for criminal elements in the area.
In a release signed by the public affairs officer the agency said the suspects and exhibits had been moved to the state Command headquarters for further investigation.
The public affairs officer said the agency was warning drug dealers to “desist from it as there will no longer be a hiding place for them”.
He said that the agency was prepared to tackle drug dealers saying the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Rtd Brig. Gen Buba Marwa, had “trained more operatives” and provided them with “more operational logistics” for the task.
Mr Ogbumgbada named the seized items to include: 19.4kg of Cannabis Sativa, 120.2grams of Methamphetamine, 40.4grams of Diazapam and 900grams of Tramadol.
Other seized exhibits include 3.9grams of Rohypnol and 1.7kg of Exol 5.
The public affairs officer said: “We also want to use this medium to call on the public to give us credible information that will enable us sanitize the society of hard drugs”.
In a previous interview, the Assistant Commander of Narcotics said that the agency was always after those who circulate drugs in order to stop their operations.
He said at the time that the agency was working to stop their operations so that they would not continue to harm those who take drugs.
The public affairs officer said: “For those who circulate drugs, our operations are always to find a way to stop them from circulating because as they do that they continue to harm those who are addicted”.
He also said: “Most of these drugs are actually not manufactured here in Rivers State. There’s lockdown at the border of Rivers State (at the time) so if for instance cannabis does not enter Rivers State they won’t have cannabis to distribute but for us we are not keeping quiet. We are gathering intelligence so that if we identify any dealer still circulating the drugs we might go in and see how we can curb that”.
