The Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos Command of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has said that the percentage of illicit drug offenders it caught in 2019 increased by 8.6 per cent when compared to 2018.
Special Area Commandant, Commander of Narcotics at the airport, Ahmadu Garba, revealed the percentage increase in a chat with newsmen on Thursday in Lagos.
According to Garba, in 2019 the command arrested 101 drug offenders compared to 93 offenders arrested in 2018, comprising of 87 males and 14 females, translating to 86.14 per cent males with 13.86 per females.
Garba further said the number of seizures in 2019 was 76 compared to 73 recorded in 2018, representing 4.11 per cent rise, asserting that the total volume of substances seized from the offenders was 377. 86 kilograms in 2019.
“The substances include cocaine of 34.10 kg; heroine of 21.72 kg; cannabis sativa of 168.92 kg and Ephedrine of 24.14 kg among others,” he said.
Garba revealed that most of the offenders, no fewer than 19 were arrested on Ethiopia Airline.
According to him, 10 offenders were caught on British Airline, through cargo, while seven offenders were caught on Emirates Airline, among others.
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However, he said the command is hopeful that there would be drastic reduction in drug trafficking inward and outward the country in 2020.
“The command has also developed robust partnership with other security outfits to ensure effective monitoring at the airport,” he added and appealed to the public to continue to provide credible information to the NDLEA to enable it to discharge its mandate.
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