The Nigerian government has disbanded 35 drug trafficking networks in northwest Kano state in recent operations, a senior official announced on Monday.
The success is recorded during special operations to keep the state free from drug use as the 2019 general elections approaches, Ibrahim Abdul, state commander of the National Drugs Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) told reporters.
Abdul said such operation would be sustained to ensure that those drug users did not continue to patronize the joints and the hot spots, noting that a 42-year-old suspect was arrested during the raid.
The commander told reporters the suspect, named Okechukwu Echefu, was arrested with nine cartons of fake Coartem tablets, seven cartons of fake Augmenting tablets.
Other exhibits found with the suspect included two cartons of Laclox tablets and two cartons containing brand package and label of the fake drugs, he added.
Preliminary investigation revealed that the drugs were imported and also investigation is ongoing which at the end the suspect will be transferred to relevant authority, he said.
According to him, the NDLEA had arrested 176 suspects, out of which eight are female, during the period in review.
He said a grand total of 736,165 kilograms of exhibits were intercepted by operatives of the agency.
Abdul told reporters that among the drugs intercepted, an exhibit similar to Cannabis called "Khat" imported from South Africa was intercepted.
The commander added that 136 drug users were referred for brief intervention "counselling," while five regular clients were counselled and rehabilitated.
