By; Odeyemi Samuel, Akure.
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Ondo State Command has impounded different hard drugs of more than 64 tons from drug traffickers since 2015 to date.
It was also disclosed that 24 tons of cannabis sativa also known as Indian hemp had been seized from different dealers in the state who are currently in prison custody.
The State Commander of the NDLEA, Mr. Mohammed Sokoto stated this while speaking at the Awareness Workshop on Psychotropic Substances for NAPPMED, Ondo State Chapter in Akure, the state capital.
Sokoto said the command was committed to the eradication of illicit drug trafficking in the state, noting that all the antics of the barons were being thwarted by the officers and men of the command.
He said, “Traffickers still devised ways to traffic these drugs but we too are not relaxing in our effort to free the state from drug completely”.
In the workshop organised in collaboration with state branch of the National Association of Parent Medicine Dealers, the NDLEA boss urged NAPPMED members to do away with dealing in psychoactive drugs, declaring that anybody caught in the sales of such drugs would be punished in accordance with the law.
He also stated that the agency in collaboration with the state Ministry of Health would begin to seal the shops of NAPPMED members that had not obtained licences to operate.
In his remarks, the state’s Commissioner for Health, Dr. Dayo Adeyanju expressed the need for the NAPPMED members to cooperate with the state government in getting the licence, saying this would check the sales and spread of fake and counterfeit drugs in the state.
While reacting, the NAPPMED Chairman in the state, Mr Adewole Modupe, said many of his members could not obtain the licence due to the sudden increase in the fee by the government, stating that the licence fee was initially N2,500 before it was recently increased to N10,000.
He however noted that the Association was taking a step to meet the Health Commissioner in a bid to resolve the problem.
