In order to put an end to the sale of hard and illicit drugs in Aba, Abia state, operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have reportedly sealed off a notorious centre for where illicit drugs are been sold.
The center which is fondly called York City is a neighbourhood in the heart of the city that is the commercial hub of Abia State.
York city is synonymous with the narcotics trade.The buildings, which are renowned for the drugs business, are on Park Road, adjacent to Aba Town Hall, the headquarters of Aba South Local Government Area.
NDLEA State commander, Florence Ezeonye, who confirmed the latest raid, made bold to say that the raid will mark the end of ‘York City’ as a market place for the retail and consumption of illicit drugs.
Ezeonye revealed that the purpose of the operation was to wipe out the centre as a retail market for hard drugs. “The place is now going to be our newest beat in Abia,” she stated.
She added that the agency was partnering with other sister security agencies, the state government and some concerned citizens, who offered to pay for office space for the agency at York so that it doesn’t return to status quo.
The NDLEA commander explained that the agency is currently prosecuting more than 25 drug dealers in court, which according to her has reduced the peddling chain, noting that majority of the people at the now taken over “York City” at the moment are users.
According to her, “‘York City’ is a place where the users live, they buy these drugs and use it there, because they don’t have homes to go to and that is why I am appealing to the state government to establish a rehabilitation centre in the State.
Most of the people at ‘York City’ are users of drugs. They are still there because they don’t have homes to go to and we don’t have adequate facility to accommodate them and that is why you still see some of them in that environment.
Even when we raid the place and bring them to our office, we don’t have enough space to keep them. But the moment we have a place to move them for rehabilitation and treatment, you won’t see anybody there again, because the people that hawk these things, would not have anybody to sell to again,” she observed.
So far, the command has arrested two-hundred and twenty-three (223) persons over drug related offences from June 2011 to June 2012 in the State.
Out of the number of persons arrested, 203 were males, while 20 were females.
It also seized 970.91 kilogram of different hard drugs that include Cannabis Sativa, Cocaine and Heroin, within the same period.