The state commander of
NDLEA, Mr Apeh Reuben disclosed this to newsmen in his office yesterday. Reuben
said that 62 of the suspects were males, while 12 were females.
The National Drug Law
Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Kwara state command said it has arrested 74
suspects with 391.26 kilograms of hard drugs between January and July this
year.
He disclosed that 14 people
had been convicted by the state high court, Ilorin on offences bothering on
possession and smoking of hard drugs, adding that their sentences ranged from
12 months to eight years imprisonment.
He also said that five
suspected drug users were arrested in an uncompleted building around Baboko
area of Ilorin metropolis on Thursday, August 4, 2016, “with functionally
sophisticated locally made pistols ready for operation.
“The drug situation in the
state has turned to different dimension because they are very expensive. The
addicts can no longer afford the drug at their reach as usual. Therefore, they
engage in pilfering and armed robbery in order to meet up with the cost of
maintaining their habit.
“This of course reveals
that all drug users or consumers are potential armed robbers. Their inability
to afford the cost of drug could make them armed robbers”, he said.
While lamenting the high
rate of hard drug users in the state, Reuben said that most of the arrested
persons were smokers between ages of 19 and 50 years, adding that many of them
were counselled and 30 among them were rehabilitated and released to their
family.
The NDLEA boss, who called
for stronger collaboration of government, private organisations and
non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and the agency, said that none of the
eight commands of the agency in the state had operational vehicle.
He also charged parents to
be more responsible to upbringing of their children, adding that they should
know company their children keep.
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