Follow Us on Google
From Molly Kilete, Abuja
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has raised the alarm over how South African nationals are now leading drug trafficking cartels in Nigeria by facilitating the movement of illicit drugs through Nigeria to other parts of the world.
The agency said so far three South Africans had been arrested with large quantities of heroin, cocaine and synthetic cannabis.
The NDLEA Assistant Director, Media and Advocacy, Francis Okogun, made the revelations at the Joint Security Press Briefing by the spokespersons of the security, defence and law enforcement agencies in Abuja.
Okogun said: “On the arrest of South African nationals in connection with drug trafficking, it is important to clarify that the issue has attracted attention because of the negative impression it could create about Nigeria internationally.
“Our findings indicate that some foreign nationals are increasingly becoming involved in facilitating the movement of illicit drugs through Nigeria to other parts of the world. Some are also involved in bringing such substances into the country.”
Other News
He said: “For the period under review, three individuals were arrested. What makes these arrests particularly significant is the large quantities of drugs recovered, including heroin, cocaine and synthetic cannabis, popularly known as Loud.”
According to him, the individual arrested is suspected to be working on behalf of international drug cartels.
He said: “As you know, drug traffickers rarely volunteer information about their sponsors or the final destinations of their consignments.
“We are therefore conducting painstaking investigations to establish the actual destinations of the drugs and identify the cartels responsible for the shipments.”
