The Katsina State Command of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) says between January and June 2022, it arrested 345 suspected drug dealers and secured 15 convictions.
The command also disclosed that it counselled and rehabilitated 388 substance abusers in the period under review.
The state NDLEA Commander, Mohammed Bashir Ibrahim, made the disclosure on Monday while briefing journalists ahead of its planned activities for the 2022 United Nations (UN) Day Against Drug Abuse and Trafficking, with the theme: “Addressing Drug Challenges in Health and Humanitarian Crises”.
Ibrahim noted that out of the 345 suspects arrested, only six were female.
The Katsina NDLEA Boss explained that during the period under review, many drug joints were also destroyed in a series of raids across the state, leading to the arrest of 491 suspected drug peddlers and users in the state.
Through the Command’s launched War Against Drug Abuse (WADA), a pet project of the NDLEA Chairman, Bubba Marwa, prominent citizens in the state were mobilized to serve as ambassadors, advocating for a drug-free society.
He commended the state Governor, Aminu Bello Masari for his assistance to the command recently, approving the counselling and rehabilitations of about 48 substance depending persons in the state.
He further appealed to the Katsina Governor to kindly consider more assistance to the command, especially in the area of logistics hampering its operations in the state, assuring the state government that “the men and officers of the command under his watch would not relent until the menace of illicit drug abuse and trafficking is tackled in the state.”
