The Chairman/Chief Executive, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Col. Muhammad Abdallah (rtd.) on Wednesday chaired the first annual Africa Targeting Working Group meeting of International Drug Enforcement Conference (IDEC).
The two-day meeting held at the Capital Menlyn Main Hotel in Pretoria, South Africa from Tuesday was to prepare the African region for the forthcoming IDEC meeting in Rotterdam, Netherlands in April 2018.
Spokesman of the NDLEA, Jonah Achema in a statement said the meeting was at the instance of United States’ Drug Enforcement Administration, USDEA which is the key facilitator of IDEC.
According to Andre W. Kellum who conveyed the invitation, “We here at DEA are sincerely appreciative of your support and efforts in the battle against drug crimes.”
He said the purpose of the Africa Targeting Working Group meeting is to discuss the Drug Trafficking Organizations operating throughout Africa with drug trafficking networks cutting across borders.
The statement quoted Abdallah as describing the invitation as a product of Nigeria’s leading role in ensuring that the entire African region is on the same page in combating the illicit drug trafficking challenge.
The Chairman said: “This alarming trend in the emergence of new psychoactive substances both synthetic and plant based has further reinforced the need for regional and multi-lateral cooperation against Drug Trafficking Organizations.
“This meeting coming up very early in the year is a warning sign to the drug trafficking organizations that this year 2018 will be full of troubles for their organizations and networks”.
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