The Katsina State Command of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, (NDLEA) has appealed to stakeholders to join hands with the command in the fight against drug abuse and other related challenges facing the state.
The appeal is coming after officers of the command intercepted a 65-year-old commercial bus driver identified as Umar Abdullahi at Mani Local Government Area of the state with 12 kilograms of substance suspected to be Cannabis Sativa otherwise known as ‘Wiwi’ amounting to over 200 thousand naira.
The State commander Mr. Momodu Sule while briefing journalists at the headquarters in Kofar Kwaya noted that the suspected driver who runs from Lagos to Katsina was intercepted on his way from Lagos.
He called for support from residents to address the issue, describing it as a trend disturbing and capable of creating insecurity, adding that the culprit will be face trial.
In an interview with the suspect who has been into a commercial bus driving business for over 30 years told Channels Television that he mistakenly conveyed the substance without crosschecking them.
He however appealed to his partners in the business to always be cross-checking items asked to be conveyed to various destinations no matter their relationship with the senders.
The command had on August 14 announced that it has from July 1st, 2020 to July 31st, 2020 arrested 63 suspects and seized 11.75755kg of different types of drugs.
The success recorded as part of efforts by the command to curve the menace of drug abuse and illicit trafficking in the state.
Among the drugs seized include 4.733,79kg (14,217.5 tablets) of psychotropics substances while Cannabis Sativa (Wiwi) 7.02376kg.
In a statement released by the public relations officer of the the the the command, Mustapha Maikudi stated that the command has also secured three convictions at the Katsina division of the Federal High Court.
According to the statement, the convicts bag various jail terms ranging from six months to 24 months.
One of the three convicts simply identified as Aliyu Abubakar of Malumfashi Local Government Area of Katsina state bagged 24 months jail term after being convicted with Cannabis Sativa otherwise called (Wiwi).
The second convict identified as Abdullahi Abdullahi of Kankia Local Government Area of Katsina state bagged 6 months jail term after being arrested with Cannabis Sativa (Wiwi).
And the third convict, Awwalu Aminu of Dutsinma Local Government Area of Katsina state bagged 12 months jail term after being convicted with cannabis Sativa (Wiwi).
Similarly, on July 9th, 2020, the command disclosed that it had in the last month secured 24 number of convictions at the Katsina division of the Federal High Court.
In a press statement released by the Public Relations Officer of the command, Mustapha Maikudi, the convict bags a jail term ranging from three to 48 months.
