The Osun State command of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has said that its men arrested 252 drug suspects between January and December 2023.
In a statement on Saturday in Osogbo, the NDLEA Commander in the state, Mr. Chidi Nnadi said the suspects comprised 214 males and 38 females.
He said the command secured the conviction of 57 suspects, whose sentencing ranged from three months to five years imprisonment.
According to the commander, 47 cases are pending in court.
He said that the command seized illicit drugs weighing 1,909.69kg during the period.
“Within same period, the drug supply reduction efforts led to the discovery and destruction of 9.5 hectares of cannabis farms (23.759 tonnes of cannabis sativa) at Ifedayo and Oriade local government areas,” he said.
“The agency had a brief counselling intervention with 79 people who use drugs (PWUD) and embarked on awareness/sensitisation programmes in religious houses, schools, motor parks, markets, and workplaces,” he said.
He denied that Osun was the second-highest cannabis-producing state in the South West.
The commander thanked the agency’s Chairman, Brigadier General Buba Marwa (rtd.), and the state governor, Senator Ademola Adeleke, for their efforts to rid the state and the nation of substance abuse.
