Daily Independent Online.
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Thursday, July 08, 2004.
NDLEA rescues ailing drug suspect with N.12m
By Shola Ogunode
Aviation
Reporter
The prosecutor
played the role of a saviour when the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency
(NDLEA) saved a suspected drug peddler, Mr. Okonkwo Ugochukwu Joseph, who
ingested hard drugs, from death. He was arrested on arrival from Karachi,
Pakistan for being in possessing of 1.135 kilogrammes of heroin.
At a parade of 12
drug couriers, the Murtala Muhammed International Airport Commander of the
agency, Alhaji Abdullahi Danburam, said NDLEA has recorded an increase of about
32 per cent in arrest of drug traffickers and 38 per cent in seizures of hard
drugs in the corresponding periods of six months between 2003 and 2004.
“Our
interdiction efforts within the last six months has shown that we have made
more arrests and seizures in 2004 than the corresponding period in the year
2003. In fact, within the last six months, we have arrested 65 suspects and
made a seizure of 159.580 kilogrammes of hard drugs and psychotropic substances
compared to last year when we made an arrest of 44 suspects and a seizure of
97.648 kilogrammes of same drugs,” Danburam stated.
Parading the
suspects who were arrested at the airport either on arrival to or departure
from the country, Danburam said the people were found with varied quantity of
concealed hard drugs in their possession.
