Date: 2013-07-12

Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) in Kwara State have nabbed an Ilorin-based businessman for cocaine trafficking.

Speaking with the executive members of the Correspondents Chapel of Kwara State Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), who paid a visit to his office in Ilorin, on Thursday, the state commander of the agency, Mr Segun Oke, said the cocaine substance weighed 1.7 kilogrammes with market value estimated at about N20 million.

Oke, who said the arrest was made last Tuesday, added that the hard drug was concealed in an ordinary envelope with affixed postage stamps on it.

The NDLEA boss said the envelope containing the drug substance was delivered to one of the drivers in Ilorin motor parks, adding that the operatives of the agency, who intercepted the parcel, called the person whose names were on the envelope to come for collection and was nabbed in the process.

Oke described the seizure and arrest of cocaine trafficker in the state as first of its kind and called on stakeholders and members of the public to provide useful information about suspicious people and places to the agency.

He also raised the alarm over the challenge of drug abuse in the state, which he called use of legal medication substances such as cough syrup with banned codeine.

He said the development was capable of destroying a whole generation if not handled with the seriousness it deserved, adding that parents and guardians should be vigilant on activities of their wards, particularly on use of substances which, he said, included tyre gum.