Sunday Ejike takes a look at the efforts by the National Drugs Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) in the fight against illicit drugs trafficking and abuse in Nigeria.
National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) is a federal law enforcement agency established by Decree No. 48 of December 29, 1989. The promulgation of the decree was chiefly in response to the rising trend in the demand for and trafficking of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances which adversely affected the international image of Nigerians and Nigeria in the 1980s. Since then, the trafficking of illicit substances has become an organised criminal activity that undermines the security and development of the country and, therefore, demands urgent attention and priority from the government.
NDLEA is in charge of drug policy and control in Nigeria and within this purview, the agency has the mandate to curtail illicit production, importation, exportation, sale and trafficking of psychoactive substances. Employees of NDLEA carry out interdiction and destruction of narcotic drugs and other illicit substances. They also engage in preventive drug abuse activities such as advocacy, counselling, and rehabilitation of drug users.
In fulfilling the mandate of the agency, thousands of expert narcotic operatives and support staff of NDLEA work across the country with presence at international airports, seaports, border crossing and major highways. Committed to keeping society safe from the dangers of illicit substances and their purveyors, NDLEA operatives are actively engaged in the tracking, arrest and prosecution of traffickers of dangerous substances under the various relevant drug laws of Nigeria.
The war against illicit drugs in Nigeria yielded positive results following the appointment of Brigadier-General Mohammed Buba Marwa (retd) as the chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the NDLEA in January 2021 by the immediate past president, Muhammadu Buhari.
Before his appointment, the country was mired in the cesspool of drug trafficking, with young men and women serving jail terms in various prisons across the world for drug trafficking. A few had met to their deaths in countries with harsh posture towards illicit drugs.
Like the Director, Media and Advocacy of the NDLEA, Mr Femi Babafemi, said in his piece to mark the 70th birthday of the NDLEA boss, Marwa and the staff of NDLEA have turned around the narrative. A full spectrum offensive action has seen 38 drug barons currently facing prosecution before courts of competent jurisdiction across the country.
Addressing a press conference, along with the country representative of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Mr Oliver Stolpe, in Abuja in June, to flag off a week-long activity marking the 2023 World Drug Day, the NDLEA boss said the fight against substance abuse and illicit drug trafficking has yielded significant results in the last 29 months.
According to Marwa, the agency arrested 31,675 drug offenders; 5,147 of them were prosecuted and convicted while over 6.3 million kilogrammes of assorted drugs were seized within the same period.
The World Drug Day is an annual event, “to mobilise resources, align policies and inspire organisations, communities and nations to work in a particular direction to effectively tackle the challenges of illicit substances in society.”
This year’s theme, “People First: Stop Stigma and Discrimination, Strengthen Prevention,” was in furtherance of the whole-of-society approach to taming the drug scourge. The theme was pertinent to the Nigerian situation at the moment.
According to Marwa, “In the past two and a half years, we have strengthened our law enforcement efforts to cut down on the supply of drugs in the society. In 29 months, we have arrested 31,675 drug offenders, including 35 barons; successfully prosecuted and got conviction for 5,147 of them, and over 11,000 other cases still pending in court, while 23,725 drug users had been counselled and rehabilitated, majority of them through brief interventions.
“At least 6.3 million kilogrammes of various illicit substances have been recovered in response to our efforts to sweep up drugs and shut down the distribution channels. We have destroyed 852.142 hectares of cannabis farms and dismantled three clandestine methamphetamine laboratories. I can assure you that even as we speak, NDLEA agents are busy with interdiction activities somewhere.”
Drug supply reduction is, however, only one of the components of the equation. Another crucial component is drug demand reduction, which operationally means prevention, treatment and rehabilitation. There is the need to strike a balance between these two crucial components if the country is to achieve its desired utopia of a drug-free society.
The NDLEA has made significant investments in prevention, treatment and rehabilitation over the last two years. In the last 29 months, Marwa said the agency acquired a few more rehab centres, given to it as donations, while it also obtained the Federal Government’s approval for the construction of regional model rehabs. More private treatment facilities are also cooperating with NDLEA. To cap it all, NDLEA went above and beyond to invest in a toll-free, round-the-clock call centre that provides teletherapy.
“In summary, we have prioritised treatment, while our War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) advocacy initiative has taken a life of its own with our commands, formations and partnering civil society organisations taking sensitisation lectures and campaigns to schools, communities, worship places and many more across the country every day,” he said.
WADA is an advocacy campaign launched on June 26, 2021 by former President Buhari to create awareness that will suffuse society with anti-drug culture. It entails setting up coordinated anti-drug committees in states, LGAs and communities across the federation.
To achieve its mandate, the agency produced commercials and jingles in different languages being broadcast on various TV and radio platforms respectively. This was aimed at prevention, by sensitising the people and equipping them with facts about drugs to enable them to take the right decisions against substance abuse.
The NDLEA wants the society to drop the stigmatisation that discourages drug users from seeking treatment, a development, which has serious socioeconomic repercussions for individuals and their families. Stigmatisation and discrimination make recovery and reintegration difficult for drug-dependent users who submit themselves to treatment and the prevalence of such an attitude is counterproductive to the effort, time, and resources invested by governments, institutions, and corporate bodies working to contain the drug problem.
“We must rid ourselves of any bias against those who are drug-dependent to be able to support, expedite, and make permanent their recovery. The theme will serve as an impetus for us to make a collective effort to break down these invincible but formidable social barriers that undermine the attainment of the goal of a drug-free society,” Marwa said.
In his remarks at the media briefing, the UNODC Country Representative, Mr Stolpe, emphasised the “benefits of international cooperation in criminal justice matters with a specific target of dismantling trafficking networks involved in this terrible trade”, adding that “long overdue is the need to make sure that the public and primary health care providers are better prepared to take basic drug counseling needs, knowing how to deal with people suffering from drug use disorders.”
After Marwa’s disclosure of the feat achieved by the agency, Babafemi, said the NDLEA subsequently took down three major illicit drug syndicates in an intelligence-led operations across parts of Lagos state, leading to the arrest of a baroness and four other kingpins with multibillion naira worth of cocaine, opioids and Loud recovered from their hideouts.
A female head of one of the syndicates, Faith, was arrested on August 9 at her residence at the Festac area of Lagos shortly after she returned from a warehouse at Plot 3432 Sola Akinsola Street, Divine Estate, Amuwo Odofin, where she loaded eight cartons of Tramadol 225mg into an unmarked white Honda Pilot SUV.
A search of her residence and the warehouse led to the recovery of 2,750,000 pills of Tramaking, a brand of Tramadol 225mg and 250mg packed in 39 cartons weighing 1,916 kilogrammes (kg). The drugs and the SUV were recovered while the suspect was taken into custody.
In another operation targeted at a group of transnational syndicates involved in importation, exportation, distribution, and dealing in cocaine and Canadian Loud, operatives of the same special unit of the agency, on August 4, tracked the drug syndicate to an estate in Lekki-Ajah area of Lagos where a blue Toyota Highlander SUV was loaded with 8.49kg of cocaine and 10.3kg Canadian Loud for distribution by the duo of one Urama and Adelakun.
A follow-up operation at the residence of Urama at Eti-Osa, Lagos, according to Babafemi, led to the recovery of additional 18 blocks of Loud weighing 18.5kg. The following day, August 5, operatives of the Special Unit went after another syndicate involved in importation, distribution and diversion of ephedrine hydrochloride, a precursor chemical used for the production of methamphetamine, following intelligence that members of the cartel were planning to divert 25 kilogrammes of the substance.
Two members of the syndicate were arrested at a commercial bus terminal in Jibowu, Yaba, Lagos where they were attempting to send the concealed substance to the South East. A body search conducted on the two suspects led to the recovery of $3,000 on one of the members.
In operations across four other states, NDLEA operatives recovered over 13,391.8kg of skunk with no fewer than 1,955kg of the illicit substance packed in 139 jumbo bags and stored in the warehouse of a wanted notorious drug dealer in Ado Odo Ota area of Ogun State recovered in collaboration with officers and men of the Nigerian Army.
In Ondo, three men were arrested in connection with the seizure and/or destruction of over 10,325.5kg of cannabis sativa in Iju and Ala forests, in Akure area of the state in the same month.
A 22-year-old man was arrested during the raid of an uncompleted building on the outskirts of Utese town in Ovia North East LGA of Edo State with 10kg skunk, 976kg of the same substance was recovered from the building in addition to the recovery of four motorcycles.
In Nasarawa State, a 49-year-old was arrested with 64.8kg of cannabis sativa in Doma LGA, while NDLEA operatives of the Directorate of Operations and General Investigation (DOGI) intercepted a 4.5kg consignment of Loud coming from the United States at a courier firm in Lagos.
In his reaction to the clinical dismantling of the three drug syndicates and arrest of their kingpins, Marwa commended the officers and men of the Special Unit for being pro-active and pragmatic in the operations. He also applauded their colleagues in Ogun, Ondo, Edo and Nasarawa commands as well as those of DOGI for their zeal and professionalism and charged them and their compatriots across the country to remain vigilant and focused.
Also this year, the NDLEA arrested a 34-year-old South American man from Suriname, Dadda Lorenzo Harvy Albert, at the Port Harcourt International Airport, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, for bringing into Nigeria 117 parcels of cocaine concealed in extra-large latex condoms factory packed, inside bottles of 100ml body spray.
According to the NDLEA spokesman, the man has been convicted and sentenced to 13 years in prison. The suspect who claimed he departed his country, Suriname, located in the North Eastern coast of South America on April 2 for Sao Paulo, Brazil and from Sao Paulo to Nigeria on April 7, 2023 on board Qatar Airways flight in search of his long-lost Nigerian father, whom he called “Omini”, was arraigned before Justice E.A. Obile of the Federal High Court 2, Port Harcourt on June 1 on two counts of importation and unlawful possession of 9.9kg of cocaine in charge number, FHC/PH/181C/23.
The Surinamese, however, pleaded guilty to the two-count charge and after the review of the facts of the case on July 20, he was convicted and sentenced to 13 years imprisonment on both counts without an option of fine.
The trial judge also ordered the forfeiture of the sum of $90 and 10 Brazilian Real recovered from the convict at the time of his arrest to the Federal Government and equally refused the application by Lorenzo’s counsel for him to be deported back to his country. As a result, the convict is now serving his term of imprisonment at the Correctional Centre, Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
The successful prosecution and conviction of Lorenzo is one of the 1,445 drug cases concluded at the Federal High Court across the country between January and June 2023 by the Directorate of Prosecution and Legal Services of the NDLEA with the trial of a total of 11,166 other drug suspects ongoing in court.
Out of the 1,445 convicts, 221 of them are female, and 1,541 are male. Of the 11,166 pending cases, 10,626 of them are men while the rest, 540, are women. The 1,445 convicts and 11,166 suspects who are still facing trial were arrested and charged to court over the seizure of 555,953.7kg of cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, cannabis, Tramadol and others linked to them between January and June 2023.
Officers and men of the prosecution department of the NDLEA got the commendation of the chairman for a job well done as he charged them to remain committed to diligent prosecution of all pending cases in court, adding also that, conviction and sentencing without the option of fine is a strong deterrence to offenders and anyone contemplating going into any crime.
In furtherance of its efforts in combating drug trafficking between Nigeria and South Africa, senior officials of the NDLEA, held a two-day meeting with their South African counterparts in the Directorate of Priority Crime Investigation, popularly known as HAWKS, to forge stronger operational ties that will herald tough times for drug syndicates operating between the two countries.
The agency’s secretary, Mr Shadrach Haruna, said the deliberation which is a follow-up to a virtual one held in April 2022, will “bridge the gap and rekindle our efforts by deepening collaboration in line with the principle of common and shared responsibility in tackling the global drug problem.”
According to him, “Among other expected outcomes of this visit is the need to have a collaborative Memorandum of Understanding to combat drug trafficking and related crimes between the NDLEA of Nigeria and the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI) HAWKS of South Africa.”
This will provide a framework for enhanced information exchange, and Joint Operations/Joint Airport Interdiction; all promising dividends that will benefit the two organisations and countries greatly.
While emphasising the increasing sophistication of drug trafficking cartels, particularly the proliferation of methamphetamine laboratories and the emergence of fentanyl production facilities, which pose grave threats to the safety and wellbeing of citizens in both countries, the agency said this demands swift action through the seamless exchange of intelligence and technical expertise.
This, according to Haruna, will not only help to halt the spread of illicit production of these deadly illicit drugs but also prevent locally-produced ones from being smuggled between both countries, adding that the need for collaboration became urgent given the volume of trade and social interactions between the two countries, leading to a corresponding trade in illicit drugs.
In his response, leader of the South African delegation, Lieutenant-General Senaba Mosipi, stressed that the collaboration between the two countries was necessary because criminals operating in the drug trade recognise no borders, or geographical boundaries.
To effectively combat their criminality, the South African official said proactive measures within the arm of the law are imperative and added that, “We have the capacity to work together no matter the distance between our countries. The operational collaboration between NDLEA and HAWKS is important to combat the operations of criminal syndicates in our two countries”,
Recently, the NDLEA boss directed all commands and formations of the agency to begin an immediate clampdown on illegal sale and use of nitrous oxide, otherwise known as laughing gas following its abuse by people who use it for recreational purposes.
Nitrous oxide is a colourless gas commonly used for sedation and pain relief, more often by dentists and medical professionals to sedate patients undergoing minor medical procedures. Popularly called laughing gas or N2O, it is fast emerging as a drug in demand in Nigeria by young party-goers or fun-seekers to feel intoxicated or high. The gas is often transferred from its containers into balloons, from where it is inhaled for euphoric effects.
The NDLEA decided to clamp down on those involved in illegal sale and use of nitrous oxide, following analysis of the effects on those who abuse the substance which include: dizziness; disorientation, headache, light headedness, fainting spells, hallucinations, falling unconscious and/or suffocating from lack of oxygen and other neurological complications especially psychiatric symptoms.
The agency said pending when other measures are taken in consultation with other stakeholders especially the Federal Ministry of Health, to curb the menace, it will not hesitate to wield the big stick against anyone, no matter their social status, involved in illegal sale or use of nitrous oxide in the overall interest of public health as it urged parents, guardians and other stakeholders to be vigilant, alert and warn their young ones against attempting experimenting or abusing the substance, which poses threats to their mental and overall wellbeing.
Barely 24 hours after the directive to all commands and formations of the agency to begin an immediate clampdown on illegal sale and use of nitrous oxide, NDLEA operatives intercepted over 64,863.5kg consignments of the gaseous substance at the Apapa seaport in Lagos and in Imo State.
Following credible intelligence, NDLEA operatives at the Apapa seaport intercepted two containers marked MSKU 7626856 and MSKU 7689448 suspected to contain cartons of Nitrous oxide and plastic pressure release nozzles imported from China. A joint examination of the containers was carried out by officers of the Agency, men of the Customs Service and other stakeholders and during the search of the two containers, a total of 522 cartons of nitrous oxide, containing 16,366 packages weighing 64,852kg were recovered along with the paraphernalia for recreational use. The importer of the consignment, one 30-year-old Stephen and his agent were thereafter arrested and detained for further investigation.
Checks revealed that the NDLEA has been making arrests and seizures of illicit drugs on a daily basis across the country.
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