Pubdate: Tue, 10 Jul 2012
Source: Daily Observer, The (Gambia)
Address: Gacem Road, Kanifing Industrial Area, P. M. B. 131, Banjul, 
The Gambia
Copyright: 2012 Observer Company Ltd.
Website: http://observer.gm/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/5342

WAR ON DRUGS

The National Drug Enforcement Agency (NDMA) is on the move. Since the 
launching of operation bulldozer, the Agency has also stepped up 
efforts to ensure that drugs and drug peddlers have no room in our 
society.More arrests have been made and even though it appears drug 
peddlers are changing tactics, the narcotics agency has shown them 
that they can run but they can never hide.

What is however disheartening is that despite all efforts by the 
government to ensure that the country becomes drug free, some youths 
are still actively engaged in this nefarious trade. Almost all those 
nabbed by the NDEA are youths and recently the Agency revealed that 
some 300 young people are in their custody for being in position of 
illicit drugs.

Of course no tangible reason can be advanced for this because it is 
self-evident that the leadership has opened many windows of 
opportunities for the youths as well as creating the enabling 
environment for them to acquire skills and be in the vanguard in 
national development.

We therefore wish to once again commend the NDEA for ensuring that 
those unscrupulous people dealing in illicit drugs are tracked, 
nabbed and punished. The recent high wave of arrests of suspected 
drug peddlers regardless of their change of tactics, like loading 
illicit drugs on animal-drawn carts, would no doubt send a message to 
the world that the Gambian authorities are effectively combating 
illicit drug-trafficking.

No one needs to be reminded that illicit drugs and drug-trafficking 
do not bode well for any country. We all know that drug-ridden states 
have high crime rates and are often characterised by 
underdevelopment. A country like The Gambia that has achieved so much 
in a few years in the area of socio-economic development will never 
allow undesirable drug dealers to gain a foothold in the country, and 
thereby pollute its society.

Everyone should therefore be vigilant, and complement the efforts of 
the NDEA in making this country drug-free. Reporting any suspicious 
activity within our vicinity to the concerned authorities, distancing 
ourselves from dealing in illicit drugs and living up to our moral 
values as decent Gambians will aid greatly in that respect.
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