Customs hand over 284 parcels of marijuana to NDLEA in Kebbi
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has received over 284 seized parcels of cannabis sativa also known as marijuana from the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) in Kebbi.
Mr Joseph Attah, who’s the Customs Comptroller in the state, handed the exhibits that were seized from traffickers of drug to the NDLEA Commander in the state, Mr Sulaiman Usman, in Birnin Kebbi, the state capital on Thursday.
He revealed that the presentation of the illegal substances was in line with its commitment to inter-agency cooperation.
The comptroller also said that while other seized illegal items or substances had consequences economically, marijuana can implicate and it poses danger to the security and health of the people.
“You will agree with me that while other seized items are financially quantifiable, we cannot quantify the level of damage dangerous drugs and other substances cause in the society.
“Such substance when unleashed in the society serve as catalyst for all the major crimes we see in our society.
“The seized cannabis was handed over to NDLEA in Kebbi for further necessary action,” he said.
Attah also noted that the command also achieved successes in its core aim of generating income, facilitating trade and reducing rate of smuggling.
“Revenue generation drive of the command has continued to witness a gradual increase.
“In October under review, we generated a sum of N162. 2 million as revenue from Import Duty, this is the highest since the reopening of Kamba border.
“The command equally facilitated the formal export of locally manufactured goods worth over N2 billion in the period under review,” Attah said.
The comptroller also revealed that the command had ordered its men to double up the surveillance across the waterways and bushes and to address smuggling in the state.
“To this end, the effort yielded 16 seizures of assorted items which include, but not limited to the 284 parcels laptop size of cannabis sativa.”
Some of the seized substances which included four used cars comprising a diesel truck, two Honda civic cars and one tipper truck.
“Others are,139 bales of second hand clothes, 345 bags of foreign parboiled rice (50kg each), 2,250 litres of PMS, 38 cartons of whitening cream, 80 pieces of solar batteries, among others.
“The Duty Paid value of the seized items stands at N78.6 million,” he said.
Attah appreciated community leaders for their solidarity to the service and reaffirmed the commitment of the command to address the illicit trans-border trade and other criminal acts.
Reacting, Usman thanked the commitment between the NDLEA and NCS, promising that there would be promotion of security, reduction of crime and drug abuse in the state.
“The NCS has been doing great and this is not the first time it has handed over seized items to the NDLEA,” he said.
