The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) said yesterday that it seized a total of 1.2 tons of hard drugs from 164 suspects during various operations across Kwara State in 2013.

The seizures were from suspects from within the state and those on transit to neighbouring states, the agency said. Out of the suspects, 149 were males while the remaining 15 were females.

State commander of the agency, Mr. Segun Oke, who made the disclosure at a press briefing, however, expressed concern over armed attacks against officials of the agency, warning that as an organisation empowered to use legal force in the course of duty, it would no longer hesitate to react to attacks by suspects.
The briefing was part of activities lined up for the 2014 anti-drug abuse seminar by the agency. 

The event  is being organised in collaboration with the Nigeria Association of Patent and Proprietary Medicine Dealers (NAPMED) in the state.

Oke listed the seizures to include 807 kilogrammes of Indian hemp, 351 kilogrammes of psychotropic substances and 1.79 kilogrammes of cocaine. 
He expressed concern over the seizures, saying it was the first of its kind in the state and was discovered at the post office, where the courier had gone to collect it. 

He recalled that some officials of the agency were attacked and severely wounded in the course of the operations last year by suspects. 

 "By the end of 2012, we had mopped 1.2 tons of hard drugs from Kwara State and that told us that there was a problem. We are committed to ensuring that Kwara remains a state of harmony but we all know that such cannot happen if there is a high rate of drug abuse. 

"We are on the eve of another election, so we want to reduce the availability of hard drugs that the boys can use. We have identified a correlation between political campaigns and drug abuse and we know that the only way to handle it effectively is to control it now before the time comes," he said.