The New Phase of Drug War

Fri, May 17, 2013

By publisher

8 MIN READ

–

National Drug Law Enforcement Agency intensifies war on hard drugs; destroys six manufacturing centres; arrest Nigerian and Bolivian Drug manufacturers

|  By Vincent Nzemeke  |  May 27, 2013 @ 01:00 GMT

TUESDAY, February 19, started like a normal day for 23-year-old Collins Ubachukwu and his three Bolivian acolytes, Yerko Artunduaga, Ticona Jorge, and Hugo Moreno. The quartet, who specialises in the production of Methamphetamine, a powerful addictive stimulant, resumed in their laboratory located inside a bungalow in Lekki eager to begin the day’s work.  The foursome gathered chemicals, gas cylinders and other requirements for their work, unaware of the officers from the Lagos Command of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency NDLEA, lurking in the vicinity like a lion waiting to swoop on its prey.

The officers who relied on intelligence gathered over a two-month period by some of its secret agents, garrisoned the laboratory and closed in on the suspects who were busy in their evil trade. Moments later, Ubachukwu and his friends were red-faced as the NDLEA officers stormed the laboratory and arrested them. The raid also led to the recovery of 41.150kg of ephedrine, 4.8kg of methamphetamine, other chemicals and sundry gadgets used in the laboratory. Three vehicles, a Honda Accord Saloon car, a Honda CRV Jeep and a Toyota 4 Runner Jeep were also impounded. However, Solomon Azuka Uzoka and Basil Ikechukwu Uzoka are wanted for questioning by the anti-drug Agency. The suspects are facing prosecution by the agency are being held at the Ikoyi Prison Lagos pending their next appearance in court.

 It is not the arrest of Ubachukwu and his associates that is scary; it is the fact that hard drugs are now being produced in Nigeria. Before the Lekki operation the NDLEA had discovered some clandestine laboratories in Isolo, Satelite town, Ojo, all in Lagos and Nanka Village in Anambra State, where hard drugs of various degrees were being produced. Although Nigeria does not grow coca, the plant used in the production of cocaine, or opium, which is needed to produce heroin, it is common knowledge that the country is a major producer of cannabis savita, popularly known as hemp.

There are hundreds of farms in various parts of the country dedicated to the planting and harvesting of the substance which is classified as hard drug. But with the discovery of the Methamphetamine laboratories, Nigeria has earned a place in the league of drug producing countries. There are now sufficient proofs to remove the veil of innocence and convince government, agencies and international organisations that Nigeria has graduated from a mere drug trafficking country into a full-fledged drug producing country.

According to Femi Ajayi, director general of the NDLEA, Nigerians are no longer just conduit pipes for the transfer of drugs from Mexico, Brazil and other country where they are produced into Europe and America, they are now drug producers. “We used to live in denial that our people are just mules for moving drugs around the world and that our country was just a drug warehouse, but the truth is that evidence from our health centres, hospitals and even on the streets, the number of people suffering from drug-induced psychosis or mental derangement is on the increase and that shows that our people are producing and using drugs.” Mitchell Ofoyeju, NDLEA’s head of public affairs section, says methamphetamine is a powerful addictive stimulant that dramatically affects the central nervous system. It is produced using precursor chemicals and poses serious health and environmental hazards to humans and animals. Aside from the colossal health hazard such as brain damage, dizziness, skin burns, coughing and tooth decay associated with methamphetamine, what should scare any right thinking mind is the environmental risks it portends.

According to Ajayi, those who use the substance in other climes site their factories in forests and other far-flung places as a way of protecting the environment unlike what obtains here where it is produced in residential areas. “Several chemicals used in the production of Methamphetamine are highly inflammable and explosive. These chemicals degrade the environment and in the process, human beings and animals are killed.”

Whatever doubts anyone still harbours about Nigeria being a country of drug producers and consumers is dispelled by yet another discovery by the Edo State Command of the NDLEA. In what has been described as a monumental operation, the agency recently destroyed 102,000kg of cannabis which is the largest so far in its history, and apprehended 231 drug trafficking suspects in the state. In his keynote address during the destruction of the drugs, Ahmadu Giade, the agency’s chairman, said the Edo state command “successfully traced and seized the drugs which were concealed in vehicles and secret warehouses in remote parts of the state.”

Prior to the Edo incident and the advent of hard drug manufacturing in the country Giade said  illicit drugs were “alien” to Nigeria. Cannabis, now locally grown in most states of the federation, was introduced to the country by foreigners. Dagmar Thomas, the country representative of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, UNODC, had said Nigeria was one of the largest cannabis growers in Africa, with over eight percent of the population abusing cannabis. Annual cannabis seizures increased from 126 metric tonnes in 2005 to 210 metric tones in 2007.

The NDLEA describes the South West region of Nigeria as one of the main centers of illicit drug production in the country. About 196.5 acres (0.795 km²) of cannabis farmland was discovered and destroyed in the region in 2008. In particular, Edo State has the highest rate of seizure of cannabis in the country. In April 2009, the NDLEA confiscated 6.5 tonnes of marijuana from the home of a man in Ogun State who claimed to be 114 years old. In September 2009, the NDLEA reported destroying a 24 hectare cannabis plantation in a forest reserve in Osun State.

In January 2009, the NDLEA publicly burned 5,605.45 kilograms of drugs seized from traffickers in the historic town of Badagry, Lagos. The bonfire included 376.45 kilograms of cocaine, 71.46 kilogramme of heroin and 5,157.56 tonnes of cannabis.

To help the fight against illicit drugs in the country, the  US  donated full body scanning machines for the Lagos, Kano, Abuja and Port Harcourt international airports and has provided security training and orientation to airport officers. The machines have proved effective in catching smugglers and couriers taking cocaine from Latin America to Europe by way of Nigeria. Between 2006 and June 2008 more than  12,663 suspected drug dealers were arrested, with a seizure of more than 418.8 metric tonnes of various hard drugs^..

Even though NDLEA appears resolute in its bid to curb the menace of drug trafficking and usage in the country, the agency is handicapped by insufficient funds and an acute shortage of arms and manpower.

Ajayi lamented the fact that an important organisation like the NDLEA gets “a meagre N158 million as budget for a whole year”. He added that the poor funding of the agency makes it easy for some of his men to compromise. “Drug barons are usually very rich and connected and it is hard to confront them when you don’t have the means to defeat them. The poor funding of the NDLEA makes it easy for an officer who does not have a strong moral foundation to compromise because we are not giving them what they need. We have cause to dismiss some officers but we also know that we are not doing enough for them”. Citing instances when some drug traffickers with had superior fire power attacked his officials and escaped in the process, Ajayi said the agency is in dire need of operational vehicles, firearms and other modern day gadgets to tackle drug trafficking. “The NDLEA is not in a position to effectively curb drug trafficking. We don’t have enough men and the few ones that we have are not properly kitted. In Adamawa state, our men arrested some drug traffickers and they were ambushed on their way back. The officer with a gun tried to shoot and the gun did not work. That is how terrible the situation is for us.”

Reiterating that the drug war can only be won with a collective approach, Ajayi called on government, private organisations, individuals and other security agencies in the country to collaborate with the NDLEA. “NDLEA cannot do this alone. We require the support of the government, police, customs, immigration and other security agencies in this country. We also need to secure the collaboration of the military because they are the ones who can provide the ammunitions and logistics we require to really flush out drug traffickers.”

Despite his pleas for a collective approach, Ajayi further posited that the effort of the NDLEA might be in vain as long as the judiciary continue to be mild on drug traffickers who have been found guilty. He suggested that drug trafficking convicts be sent to jail without an option of fine. “By sending drug convicts to short term imprisonments or asking them to pay fine, the judiciary is frustrating our efforts. If those found guilty are sent to jail for a long time, people will know that we are serious about ending drug trafficking.”