The chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, (NDLEA), Buba Marwa, has described the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos as the epicentre of drug trafficking in Nigeria.
Marwa, while speaking yesterday, said this is based on the volume of drugs seized at the Lagos international airport since the beginning of the year.
Marwa, who was a guest at the Presidential Villa in Abuja today for the weekly briefings coordinated by Nigeria’s Presidential Media Team, stated that “Murtala Mohammed International Airport remains the epicentre of the spectacular seizures, including what stands today as the singular biggest seizure from an individual in 15 years, which was 26.840kg of cocaine smuggled from Brazil in January; 24.05 kg of heroin in April; 27.95 kg of cocaine in May, and 26.15kg of heroin in May”.
He further said that between January 25 and October 15, more than 2.7 million kilograms of illicit drugs have been seized by the operatives of the agency.
The NDLEA boss said the agency was working on a legislative Bill that will prescribe harsher penalties for drug traffickers in the country.
Marwa said the NDLEA was seeking a minimum of 15 years and a maximum of between 25 years and life jail sentences for anyone caught by its operatives indulging in drugs activities.
The drug enforcement agency in recent months has moved to strengthen the war against drug abuse and trafficking with the addition of hundreds of newly trained narcotic assistants to the workforce of the agency.
