Drug barons and peddlers because of their greed, are responsible for exposing drug addicts to illicit drugs thereby ruining their health.
The Enugu State Commander of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Mr. Bassey Aniete has said that the real enemies of the Nigerian society confronting the anti-drug agency are drug barons.
Aniete said drug barons and peddlers because of their greed, are responsible for exposing drug addicts to illicit drugs thereby ruining their health, Vanguard reports.
According to Aniete, people should pity drug addicts, while adding that all hope is not lost concerning how they can be useful to society again after they have gone through rehabilitation.
Aniete said this, Friday, at the introduction to the 2021 United Nations International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking.
He said that, “The global drug situation is worrisome and Nigeria or indeed Enugu State cannot be separated, both in prevalence and the attendant consequences. Our youths are getting increasingly involved in drug abuse and trafficking which to a large extent has threatened their future growth rate and development.”
He further revealed that the command within January and June 2021 arrested 46 suspects made up of 38 males and eight females with the seizure of 717.578 kilogrammes of cannabis sativa, 132.39 grammes of cocaine, 34.90 grammes of methamphetamine and 81.810 kilogrammes of psychotropic substance.
Aniete stated that the command has during the year prosecuted 20 suspects, comprising 16 males and four females, out of which it secured seven convictions, while 45 clients were counselled, rehabilitated and successfully reintegrated into the society.
Aniete noted that the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) World Drug Report, 2018, disclosed that about 14.3 million Nigerians between the ages of 15 and 64 years had used drugs.
He appealed to all stakeholders in Enugu state to join forces in tackling the menace of drug trafficking and abuse.