Navy arrests 20 drug peddlers in Anambra
Nigerian Navy on Tuesday arrested 20 suspected drug peddlers in Nsugbe near Onitsha in Anambra following a tip-off.
Commanding Officer of Navy Outpost, Onitsha, Navy Capt. Mike Oamen, who revealed this at a news conference in Onitsha, said that those arrested were allegedly selling and smuggling bags of hard drugs such as cannabis and other body/brain stimulants in the community.
“So what we have done is to make sure that we begin to deal with the root causes of criminality.
“So after exhaustive discussion especially at the Security Council meeting, we decided that we begin to look at how to reduce the availability of illegal drugs in Onitsha and Obosi.
“We try to work on getting credible intelligence so that we swoop on them. And it is beginning to yield dividends because the crime rate has reduced and we will continue to sustain the efforts.
“So the NDLEA (National Drug Law Enforcement Agency) now will do its work, sort out those ones that will be prosecuted.
“And we‘ve intensified our patrol on water too, because it is part of the routes they bring it in as vegetables. The impetus for us is the governor; the man has supported us with everything,” he said.
He assured the governor that Onitsha and its environs would never again be a haven and breeding ground for criminals and people with evil intentions.
Oamen said some concerned citizens volunteered the information that led to the arrest and dislodgment of criminal elements in the various communities.
“Very soon, those shops, kiosks, shanties and even parlours and hotels where hard drugs are sold we have to shut them and their operators will look for better things to do with their lives,” he added.
