File: An NDLEA operative

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) in Kogi said it had arrested six persons, including 32-year-old Rukayat Idris, with 2.2 kilogrammes of Cannabis Sativa (Indian hemp) and other psychotropic substances.

Commander of the agency in the state, Alhaji Bello Idris, who disclosed in Lokoja on Monday, told newsmen that the arrests were made within the last two weeks.

Bello said that Anazor Adams, 42, retired soldier and father of six, who confessed to be a distributor of the weeds, was arrested on Feb. 2, in Adavi Local Government Area with 700 grammes of Indian hemp by operatives of the agency.

He also revealed that Idris, a mother of three was arrested in Okene with wraps of the weed weighing 190 grammes, on Feb. 2.

The commander said that the suspects would be prosecuted at the conclusion of investigation into their alleged crimes, adding that those with lesser offences and drugs users would be counselled on “coping skills” and let go.

He, however, assured that as the general elections approached, NDLEA would go to all nooks and crannies of the state to arrest drug peddlers and users to keep the state safe and free from drug influences.

He advised commercial bus owners to caution their drivers on the kind of parcels they “carry or take from individuals for delivery’’, and urged the public to avail the agency of information on drug peddling.

One of the suspects, Rukayat, admitted that she had been into the sale of the weed for some time and that she was in it to take care of her children.

Another suspect, Salami Momoh-Jimoh, 32, arrested with 901 grammes of cannabis and five bottles of banned Codein cough syrup at Central Mosque area, Lokoja, said he was into buying and selling of the weed.

He claimed that he had quit the business when his family bought a commercial vehicle for him, but was forced back into the illegal drug deal when he contacted epilepsy.

Other suspects are Francis Nehemiah, 30; Isiaka Isa and Samuel Edugba.

Edugba, a commercial bus driver, was arrested on Okene-Lokoja highway enroute Abuja with 500 grammes of Rophynol tablets neatly concealed in the bonnet of the bus marked ENUGU: UWN 488 ZT.