No fewer than 62 persons have been convicted for various drug offences in Edo in 2016.
The State Commander of the National Drugs Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Mr Buba Wakawa, discolsed this to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Benin on Wednesday.
Wakawa said that the figure was 100 per cent higher than the number of conviction by the agency in the state in 2015.
He also said that 145 cases were still pending in the Federal High Court, Benin.
“The command apprehended 318 suspects that comprise 260 males and 58 females within the period under review, compared to 337 suspects apprehended in 2015 which comprised of 261 males and 76 females,’’ Wakawa said.
He said that the agency had seized 59,132 kilogrammes of various illict drugs in the year under review compared to a total of 36, 255 kilogrammes of seizure made in 2015.
The commandant said that, “ of the seizure, 59, 008 kilogrammes were suspected Cannabis Sativa, 390 kilogrammes Psychotropic Substances, 34.2 Kilogrammes suspected Methamphetamine.
“While 0.0256 kilogrammes of suspected Cocaine substance and 0.0032 kilogrammes of suspected Heroine substance were seized,’’ he said.
He said that the total quantity of suspected illicit drugs in the custody of the command was 185, 004 kilogrammes.
“ The command has also secured a Federal High Court order for the public destruction by burning of 106, 428 kilogrammes of different types of illicit drugs.
“The cammand also has in its custody 87 vehicles and 29 motorcycles which were forfeited to the Federal Government and awaiting public auctioning,’’ he said.
Wakawa , however, said that 113 suspects were counseled within the period as against 184 in 2015.
He restated the agency’s resolve to rid the state of illicit drug trafficking . (NAN)