NDLEA arrests 29 suspected drug traffickers in Akwa Ibom

NO fewer than 29 drug suspects have been arrested by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) in Akwa Ibom State in the past two months.

The state Commander of the agency, Josephine Ruth, who disclosed this yesterday in Uyo, explained that 25 of the suspects were males while four were females.

According to her, the total seizure in the period under review stood at 6.195.7kg of cannabis sativa or Indian hemp and six litres of  “combined” mixture of alcohol and cannabis sativa.

The NDLEA chief she said had also secured three convicts for the period.

Her words: “One of the suspects arrested this month is a man who had been convicted of drug trafficking and after serving the sentence, went back to the illicit business. According to him, he did not have capital for a legitimate business. This shows the magnitude of the challenges before the society as a whole”.

“The people brought to us for rehabilitation are often far gone, disoriented and deranged, having been on drugs for several years. It is a very arduous task trying to wean them from the habit. Detoxifying them from the drug is one thing, breaking the habit is another”, she added.

The NDLEA chief assured the people of Akwa Ibom that the command would clean the state of illicit drugs, noting however, that the task should not be left to the agency alone.

She urged residents to provide useful information to the NDLEA on illicit drug activities in the state.

Ruth thanked the Akwa Ibom State government for its support to the agency, stating that the partnership would help make the state residents healthy and secure against the activities of drugs peddlers.