The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) seized 13,125 kilogrammes of drug substances and arrested 793 suspects in 2022.

The NDLEA commander in the FCT, Kabir Tsakuwa, said this on Tuesday in Abuja at a pre-event press briefing on grassroots sensitisation and awareness campaigns on the dangers of illicit drugs.

According to him, the 793 suspects arrested comprised 768 males and 29 females.

He said, “13,125 kilogrammes of different drug substances were seized. The breakdown of the seized drugs are 12,660.3 kilogrammes of cannabis sativa.

“Others include 21.957 kilogrammes of cocaine, 0.008 kilogrammes of heroin and 443.693 kilogrammes of different psychotropic substances.”

He said the agency’s counselling and rehabilitation programmes also yielded positive results in the territory.

The NDLEA boss said the command also had 167 convictions of 161 males and six females.

Mr Tsakuwa said 78 persons comprising 74 males and four females with drug use problems, were successfully counselled and rehabilitated within the same period.

He added that efforts were on towards better achievements in drug supply reduction and demand reduction in the year 2023.

Mr Tsakuwa commended all stakeholders, including other security agencies, for their assistance in intelligence sharing, joint operations and prevention of drug abuse and trafficking in the society.

He also commended the traditional rulers in FCT, saying that their past efforts were helpful and the agency remained appreciative.

“We must always remind ourselves that the drug problem exists in every community, and we need to address it at all levels.

“We, therefore, implore you to sustain this robust engagement with a view of ridding our society of substance abuse and its attendant consequences,” he said. 

(NAN)