The Jigawa command of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency ( NDLEA ), arrested 646 suspects and recovered 1,283.54 kilograms of narcotics in 2017, according to its spokesman, Mairaga Ya’u.
Ya’u, in a statement on Thursday in Dutse, said that 112 of those arrested had been convicted and were serving various jail terms.
According to him, 416 persons were counseled by the agency within the period under review.
He said that 40,000 persons benefited from the agency’s 68 drug preventive education lectures/advocacy talks conducted in primary, secondary and tertiary institutions.
The spokesman said that the agency had arrested 30 persons over drug-related crimes this year, while 4.51 kilograms of assorted drugs were also recovered.
“Already, 11 persons, out of the 30 arrested this year, have been convicted and sent to jail, while 13 persons are currently undergoing counseling,” he said.
The spokesman decried the rising spate of drug-related crimes in Jigawa, and called for concerted efforts to rid the state of the menace.
“The drug war should not be left to NDLEA alone; everyone has a role to play in the effort to rid the country of drug trafficking and abuse,” he said.
