Pubdate: Sat, 28 Jun 2008
Source: Leadership Nigeria (Nigeria)
Copyright: 2008 Leadership Newspapers Group Limited
Contact:  http://www.leadershipnigeria.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/4706
Author: Joshua Ojo Uma

COMBATING DRUG TRAFFICKING AND ABUSE

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), which  was 
established to combat drug trafficking and abuse,  has through the 
years, put in relentless efforts at  ensuring that the Nigerian ports 
and other various  points through which illicit drugs are smuggled in 
and  out of the country are secure.

Their efforts have paid off and received wide  acceptance and 
acknowledgement by the international  community, thereby creating 
avenues for partnership  with similar agencies abroad, the most 
recent and  fruitful being the partnership between the National  Drug 
Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) and the United  States government 
through its ambassador to Nigeria,  Mrs Robin Sanders.

The American envoy, on behalf of her government,  donated full body 
scanning machines to be stationed in  the international airports in 
Lagos, Kano, Abuja and  Port Harcourt, and made the provision of 
networks  security training and orientation for the officers at  the 
various airport commands. The equipment and skills  acquired by 
officers of the agency through the training  and orientation, played 
major roles in the outstanding  drug seizures and arrests of drug 
traffickers and the  cracking down on drug cartel and networks.

Worth mentioning is that within seven days after a body  scanning 
machine was commissioned at the Nnamdi Azikwe  International Airport 
(NAIA) command of the National  Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), 
five suspected  drug traffickers were detected by the machine for 
attempting to smuggle narcotics through the airport.  The five 
suspects were nabbed during the outward  screening of passengers on a 
KLM flight on April 3,  2008.

The Abuja airport commander of the agency, Alhaji Hamza  Umar, while 
commenting on the command's scorecard in  the first quarter of the 
year, disclosed that more drug  traffickers would be arrested with 
the aid of the body  scanning machine. "The first screening we 
carried out with the body scanner resulted in the arrest of 
five  suspected drug traffickers on a single flight," Alhaji  Hamza 
said. This is a clear signal that whoever carries  drugs to this 
airport is only presenting him or herself  for arrest and prosecution.

Lamentable is the involvement of healthy young men and  women in this 
ignoble trade. The suspects arrested at  the Nnamdi Azikiwe 
International Airport (NAIA), as  observed by the airport commander, 
are between the ages  of 29 and 46, which happens to be the prime age 
for  productivity. In his words: "The ugly trend where young  people 
engage in drug trafficking rather than be  gainfully employed calls 
for serious concern."

In line with this call, the United States government,  also believing 
that drug trafficking and abuse is a  global menace which requires a 
global approach, has  resolved to spread its tentacles in the fight 
by partnering with other nations like Nigeria, a  partnership which 
has been quite fruitful, going by the  number of arrests so far and 
the number of drug  seizures, made possible by the equipment and 
human resource development provided by the US.

However, the gloomy portrait painted by drug  trafficking and other 
related offences to the  international community tends to sabotage 
the good  fight of the agency. Recently, the 
honourable  chairman/chief executive of the National Drug 
Law  Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Alhjai Ahmadu Giade, 
while  responding to the arrest of six suspected Nigerian 
drug  traffickers living in other countries in the month of April, 
2008 in Lagos, urged Nigerians to always protect  and promote the 
image of the country by avoiding drug  trafficking and other criminal acts.

According to Giade, "Every Nigerian must assume the  status of an 
ambassador and be genuinely excited in  projecting the country in 
good light at all times". The  arrested suspects include: Izeagba 
Donatus Okwuchukwu,  43, who was arrested during the routine check on 
passengers on a KLM flight from Lagos to Amsterdam. He  ingested 78 
wraps of narcotics; Egharevba Colins, 30,  who lives in Madrid, 
Spain. He ingested 68 wraps of  cocaine weighing 1.138 kilogrammes; 
Andrew Okey Eze,  36, who lives in Torino, Italy and was found to 
have ingested 95 wraps of cocaine on his way to Milan.

Others are Maduka Sunday Chinedu, 35, who lives in  Cotonou. He was 
found to have ingested 84 wraps of  cocaine on his way to Germany; 
Ngwu Whiteman Gibson, a  48-year old father of three who lives in 
Bassano,  Italy. He ingested 93 wraps of cocaine, weighing 1.568 
kilogrammes, and Alugwo Kingsley Uka, 33, who was  arrested on his 
way to Belgium with 73 wraps of hard  drugs in his stomach.

The agency took the war against drug trafficking  further when it 
enjoined courier houses to prevent the  use of their organisations in 
illicit drug trafficking,  by collaborating with the agency in the 
control of  illegal trafficking. The call for the collaboration  came 
towards the end of April, during a workshop on  operator – 
government agency interface in the  courier business in Lagos. The 
agency, through its  director-general/secretary, Otunba Lanre 
Ipinmisho,  stated that, "Courier companies are expected by law to 
take reasonable precaution in the courses of their  operations to 
check obnoxious drug trade."

Furthermore, Ipinmisho cited section 16 of the NDLEA  Act, which 
stipulates that it shall be the duty of  every commercial carrier to 
take reasonable precaution  to ensure that its means of transport is 
not used in  committing drug offences under the act. 
Such  precaution, as referred to by the act, includes the  training 
of personnel to identify suspicious  consignments and persons, 
promotion of integrity of  their personnel, submission of cargo 
manifest in  advance to the agency, use of 
tamper-resistant,  individually veritable seals or 
parcels/containers, and  reporting to the agency all suspicious 
circumstances at  the earliest opportunity.

In addition, the courier houses are expected to comply  with 
appropriate security measures to prevent  unauthorised cargo in its 
means of transportation. The  need to establish a cordial 
relationship between  courier houses and the agency in the control of 
drug trafficking was also emphasised by 
the  director-general/secretary of the agency.

According to him, "The need has become imperative, due  to the fact 
that drug barons have diversified their  subterfuge by the use of 
courier houses," a reason why  the NDLEA in 1996 under its 
Directorate of  Investigation, created a specialised unit called 
the  Postal Intelligence Assignment, which is now known as  Special 
Intelligence Assignment (SIA), to check drug  trafficking at the 
courier houses.

The SIA, since its establishment, has made several  seizures of drugs 
and arrests of suspected drug  traffickers. Just in January 28, 2008, 
the unit  intercepted 2 kilogrammes of cannabis originating 
from  Abia State and meant for delivery in Kuala Lumpur in  Malaysia. 
Similarly, 500 grammes of cocaine concealed  in cell phone chargers 
were also discovered in 2007.

Notably, the agency's watchfulness from 2007 till date  has led to 
the seizure of a total of 3.684 kilogrammes  of cocaine, 25.8 
kilogrammes of cannabis and 20  kilogrammes of psychotropic 
substances that were smuggled through the courier houses. Some modes 
of  concealment uncovered in the process include hard cover  books, 
picture frames, photo albums, sculptures,  computer components, 
electronics spare parts, textile  materials, etc.

The agency has shown great courage and determination in  its fight 
against drug trafficking and abuse between  2006 and the present, 
during which period, over 12,663  suspected drug dealers were 
arrested and the seizure of  over 418.8 metric tonnes of various hard 
drug made. The  agency still has to fasten its belt though and 
take  this campaign against narcotics to the 
grassroots,  incorporating enlightenment progammes into their 
scheme  to cover schools, both at primary, secondary and higher  institutions.

It is also important that the fight against drug  trafficking be 
taken to major hotels, resorts, and  various barracks as perpetrators 
of such vice do their  illegal transactions in the above mentioned places.

Finally, the government should enact stiffer penalties  for 
offenders, so as to discourage them and intending  offenders from the 
disgraceful trade.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart