The Kwara State Command of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested 929 suspects and intercepted 2.6 tons of hard drugs between January and December 2024, as reported by the Voice of Nigeria.

The State Commander of the agency, Mrs. Fatima Popoola, stated this while briefing newsmen on the achievements of the command in the past year in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital. She said out of the total suspects arrested, 839 are male while 90 are female.

Mrs. Popoola said the hard drugs recovered included Cannabis, tramadol, diazepam, methamphetamine, cough syrup laced with codeine, and cocaine/crack, among others. She noted that cannabis, which tops the list of drugs, accounts for 1,455.529 kilograms of the total seizures.

The NDLEA Commander explained that the mop-up of the 1.5 tons of cannabis from the streets was commendable and would reduce its destructive effect on society.

She noted that during a rapid operation of drug joints, the command arrested 185 drunk users who were counseled at the drug demand reduction unit and reintegrated with their family members.

The NDLEA boss noted that in the command’s intervention efforts, 22 clients were admitted into the rehabilitation facility in addition to 17 others who are non-residential coming from their homes for counseling during the period under review.

Mrs. Popoola maintained that the legal services unit has also secured 133 convictions at the federal high court.

She said the command, in collaboration with the state government, had commenced the implementation of the drug testing policy on 261 fresh students of Kwara State University (KWASU), the Vice Chancellor, and Dean of Student Affairs of the Institution while all of them tested negative.

The NDLEA Commander commended the efforts of the state government and other security agencies for supporting their activities.

She advised parents and guardians to have an interest in the activities of their children to prevent them from joining bad gangs.

Mrs. Popoola urged the state government to assist the command with additional operation vehicles as well as the completion of its rehabilitation centre to make their work easier.