National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) Kwara state command has said that it has arrested a total number of 119 suspects with a combined seizure of 1,406.55 kilogrammes of cannabis Sativa in six months.

Speaking with journalists at the weekend, state commander of the agency, Mr Umoru Ambrose, also said that a total of 67 suspected traffickers of banned Tramadol tablets were apprehended during dislodgment raids at illicit drug joints across the state.

Ambrose, who said that the state command had reformed many arrested drug users and reintegrated them with society through their families, added that it was part of the directive of the Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA, Col. Muhammad Mustapha Abdallah Rtd.

The state command of the NDLEA also paraded three people allegedly in possession of cannabis Sativa worth 757 kilogrammes.

The paraded suspects were said to have been intercepted along Jebba-Mokwa express road with J5 vehicle with the registration number DDM 75 XA (Katsina)

“The driver of the vehicle, Namadi Musa, alongside two collaborators; Faruku Bala and Abu Dogo, had loaded the recovered 757 kilogrammes of cannabis Sativa from Abeokuta in a false bottom compartment of the J5 vehicle travelling to Sokoto. Beside the concealment of the exhibit in a false bottom compartment, there were no other items, making it look as if the vehicle was empty”, he said.

The NDLEA boss said that the discovery was a new way of concealing illicit drugs, adding that effort was on to track other members of the syndicate in Abeokuta and Sokoto.

In another operation, the command paraded a 50-year-old man, Unma Chukwu Chinedu, with a total weight of 2.8 kilogrammes of psychotropic substances in Ilesha Baruba town in the Kwara North senatorial district.

The state commander said that Chinedu was waiting for his order of Tramadol worth 225 and Diazepam from Kano before the vehicle loaded with the illicit drugs was intercepted by NDLEA officials, adding that the suspect is currently undergoing investigation and would be arraigned in court soon.

He also said that the command would raid illicit drug joints across the state to ensure that residents celebrate the festive season without hitches, calling on well-meaning citizens and residents of the state to continue to provide the command with useful information on the activities of miscreants who engage in the illicit drug business.