The Kaduna/Katsina
command of Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) said recently that it had destroyed illicit drugs worth N595.9 million seized from smugglers operating in Katsina State.
The command’s Area Controller, Alhaji Yerima Abubakar, disclosed this while handing over the seized drugs to NAFDAC for joint destruction in Katsina.
He said that the drugs were seized from smugglers at different border areas in the state.
He said the measure was aimed at curtailing the efforts of smugglers who were bent on turning the state into a depot for illicit drugs that were dangerous to lives of the people.
Abubakar said that the seized drugs were not registered with NAFDAC.
He regretted that some of the officers sustained various degrees of injuries, while others died during gun battle with the smugglers.
Abubakar, who thanked his officers and men for the gallant efforts, also commended other security agencies for their prompt response at the time of difficulty to combat drugs smuggling.
Mr Sariel Ankruma, who represented NAFDAC’s Director-General, attributed high rate of drugs smuggling to the high patronage for such drugs in the country.
He urged parents, religious and traditional leaders to continue to assist in the ongoing efforts at enlightening the public on the dangers associated with smuggling and abuse of illicit drugs.
Alhaji Maina Ahmad, the Controller in-charge of the customs’ Federal Operation Unit, Zone ‘B’, attributed the high rate of illicit drugs smuggling to the ‘’non adherence to international bilateral trade laws by some of the neighbouring countries’’.
Ahmad, however, urged state and local governments to intensify efforts at educating the public on the dangers of illicit drugs.