NDLEA AND FIGHT AGAINST DRUGS

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) which was
established to combat drug trafficking and abuse, has through the
years put in relentless efforts at ensuring that the Nigerian ports
and other various points in which illicit drugs are smuggled in and
out of the country are secured.

An effort which have paid of and received wider acceptance and
acknowledgement by the International Community, thereby creating
awareness for partnership with similar agencies abroad. The most
recent and fruitful being the partnership between the National Drug
Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) and the United States government
through its ambassador to Nigeria, Mrs. Robin Sanders.

The American envoy on behalf of her government donated a full body
scanning machine to be stationed at the international wing of all the
International airports in Lagos, Kano, Abuja and Port Harcourt, along
with security training and orientation for the officers at the
various airport commands. The equipments and skills acquired by
officers of the Agency through the training and orientation played
major roles in the outstanding drug seizures and arrests of drug
traffickers and the cracking down on drug cartel and net work.

Worth mentioning is that within seven days that a body scanning
machine was commissioned at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Internaional Airport
(NAIA) command of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA),
five suspected drug trafffickers were being detected by the machine
for attempting to smuggle narcotics through the airport. The five
suspects were nabbed during the outward scanning of passenger on KLM
flight on April 13, 2008.

The Abuja Airport commander of the agency, Alhaji Hamza Umar, while
commenting on the command's scorecard in the first quarter of the
year disclosed that, more drug traffickers will be arrested with the
aid of the body scanning machine. "The first screening we carried out
with the body scanner resulted in the arrest of five suspected drug
traffickers in a single flight", Alhaji Hamza said. Which is a clear
signal that whoever carries drug to this airport is only presenting
him or herself for arrest and prosecution.

Lamentable is the involvement of healthy young men and women in the
ignorable trade. The suspects arrested at the Nnamdi Azikiwe
Internatioinal Airport (NAIA) as observed by the airport commander
are between the ages of 29 and 46 years, which happens to be the
prime age for productivity. In his words, "The ugly trend where
young people engage in drug trafficking rather than being gainfully
employed calls for serious concern".

In line with this call, the United States government also believing
that drug trafficking and abuse is a global menace which requires
global approach, has resolved to spread its tentacles in the fight by
partnering with other nations like Nigeria. A partnership which have
been quite fruitful, going by the number of arrests so far and the
quantity of drugs seizure, instrumental by the equipment and human
resource development provided by the US government.

The glummy portrait painted by drug trafficker and other related
offences to the international community, tends to sabotage the good
fight of the Agency. Recently, the honourable chairman/chief
executive of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA),
Alhaji Ahmadu Giade, while responding to the arrest of six suspected
Nigerian drug traffickers livnig in other countries in the month of
April, 2008 in Lagos, urged Nigerians to always protect and promote
the image of the country by avoiding drug trafficking and other
criminal acts.

According to Giade, "Every Nigerian must assume the status of an
ambassador and be gainfully excited in projecting the country in good
light at all time", he said. The arrested suspects includes Izeagba
Donatus Okwuchukwu, 43-year-old was arrested during routine check on
passengers on KLM flight from Lagos to Amsterdam, ingested 98 wraps
of narcotics. Egharevba Collins, 30 years old, who lives in Madrid,
Spain, ingested 68 wraps of cocaine weighing 1.138kg. Andrew Okey
Eze, 36 years old, who lives in Toronto, Italy was found to have
ingested 95 wraps of cocaine on his way to Milan.

Others were Maduka Sunday Chinedu, 35 years old, who lives in Cotonou
found to have ingested 84 wraps of cocaine on his way to Germany.
Nwogu Whiteman Gibson, a 48 years old father of three, lives in
Bassano, Italy, ingested 93 wraps of cocaine weighing 1.568kg,and
Alugwo Kingsley Uka, 33 years, who was arrested on his way to Belgium
with 73 wraps of hard drugs in his stomach.

The Agency has taken the war against drug trafficker further, when it
enjoined courier houses to prevent the use of their organisations in
illicit drug trafficking, by collaborating with the Agency in the
control of illegal trafficking. The call for the collaboration came
towards the end of April, during a workshop on operator-government
agency interface in courier business in Lagos. The Agency through its
director-general/secretary, Otunba Lanre Ipinmisho, stated that
"Courier companies are expected by law to take reasonable precaution
in the cause of their operation to check obnoxious drug trade".

Furthermore, Ipinmisho cited section 16 of the NDLEA Act, which
stipulates that it shall be a duty of every commercial carrier to
take reasonable precaution to ensure that its means of transport are
not used in the commission of drug offences under the Act. Such
precaution as referred to by the Act include; training of personnel
to identity suspicious consignment and persons, promotion of the
integrity of their personnel, submission of cargo manifest in advance
to the agency. Use of taper resistant individually veritable seals on
parcels/containers and reporting to the Agency all suspicious
circumstances at the earliest opportunity.

In addition, the courier houses are expected to comply with
appropriate security measures to prevent unauthorised cargo in its
means of transportation. The need to establish a cordial relationship
between courier houses and the Agency in the control for drug
trafficking was also emphasised by the director/secretary of the Agency.

According to him, "the need has become imperative due to the fact
that drug barons have diversified their subterfuge by the use of
courier houses". A reason why the NDLEA in 1996 under its Directorate
of Investigation created a specialised unit called the Postal
Intelligence Assignment which is known as Special Intelliegence
Assignment (SIA) to check drug trafficking at the courier houses.

The SIA since its establishment has made several seizure of drugs and
arrests of suspected drug traffickers. Just in January 2008, the unit
intercepted two kilogrammes of cannabis originating from Abia State,
meant for delivery in Kuaala Lumpur in Malaysia. Similarly, 500
grammes of cocaine concealed in cell phone charges were also
discovered in 2007.

Notably, the agency's watchfulness between 2007 to date, has led to
the seizure of a total of 3.684kg of cocaine, 25.8kg of cannabis and
20kg of psychotropic substances that were smuggled through the
courier houses. Some modes of concealment uncovered in the process
include hard cover books, picture frames, photo albums, sculptures,
computer components, electronics spare parts and textile materials,
etc.

Though the Agency has shown great courage and determination in its
fight against drug trafficking and abuse between 2006 till date, in
which over 12,663 suspected drug dealers were arrested and resulted
in the seizures of over 418.8 metric tonnes of various hard drug.
The agency still have to fasten its belt and take this campaign
against narcotics to the public down to the grassroots, incorporating
enlightenment programmes into their scheme to cover schools both at
the primary, secondary and higher institutions.