The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, (NDLEA) command in Cross River, says a total of 2.05 tons of hard drugs were seized from drug peddlers between January and December in the state.
The state commander, Rachel Umebuali made the disclosure in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Calabar on Monday.

Umebuali who is also the Commander of Narcotics (CN) also disclosed that 223 suspects were also arrested in connection with the seizure made in the year under review.

While noting that the suspects included 22 females and 201 males, the commandant listed the seized hard drugs to be Cannabis, Cocaine, Heroine, Methamphetamine and Psychotropics.

According to her, 1.64 tons of Cannabis were seized, while Cocaine, Heroine, Methamphetamine and Psychotropics account for 3.5 gram, 4.3 gram, 81.9 gram and 410.24kg respectively.

While not giving specific figures, Umebuali said several of the suspects were charged to court.

She further explained that the command secured conviction of some of the suspects while some of the arrested suspects were also discharged and acquitted by the courts.

The narcotics commander who bemoaned rising cases of drug abuse among the youths, identified vehicles and motor bikes as the peddlers’ mode of operations.

She said in spite of some obvious challenges, the command was still able to record huge success in the outgoing year.

According to her, aside from the seizure and arrests made in the outgoing year, we hope to improve on this performance in the coming year.

“Our operations are hampered primarily by inadequate operational vehicles, inaccessible and bad roads, especially, during the rainy season, cultism and communal crisis.”