A total of 38 suspects were arrested by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, Bayelsa State Command in September for various drug-related offences.
Spokesman of the command, Osakwe Ikenna said in a statement that 26 male adults and 12 female offenders were arrested in possession of 29.751 kilograms of illicit drugs, comprising cannabis, sativa, psychotropic substances, heroin and cocaine.
The command noted that the statistics of arrest and seizure, revealed high rate of abuse of psychotropic substances especially tramadol by both old and young people in communities across the state, saying the command between July and September had successfully counselled more than 25 substance-dependent persons in the state.
‘”Following the alarming abuse of tramadol substances and other psychotropic drugs, the state Commander of the NDLEA, Abdullahi Abdul is putting in place measures to convene stakeholders meetings as well as rallies to sensitize citizens and residents on the dangers of abuse of illicit drugs and psychotropic substances,” it stated.
The command appealed to parents and guardians to keep watch over the activities of their children and wards to ensure that they are not mislead or pressured into illegal drugs use and residents of the state to ensure vigilance on illegal drug activities in their communities.