Nigeria and Niger Republic have carried out a joint operation to rid the region of illicit drugs with six persons arrested and a total of 881.100kg of seizures made.
The programme was organized by the ECOWAS in conjunction with INTERPOL in Sokoto state Nigeria.
Chairman National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Col Muhammad Mustapha Abdallah (rtd.) disclosed this at the closing ceremony of the five -day Joint Training and Operations Exercise between Nigeria and Niger Republic.
He listed the seizures to include 67.10kg of Dizepam,22.60 kg of tramadol,794 kg of codeine and 30grammes of cannbis.
“We have resolved to ensure that there will be no weak or safe haven for the various organized criminalities in the sub-region,” he asserted.
The NDLEA Chairman noted: “There is a robust existing protocol between Nigeria and Niger Republic which is the background of these joint efforts to rid the region of illicit drugs.”
He added: “My administration will not spare any efforts to make the protocol between Niger Republic and Nigeria to be more proactive.”
Abdallah expressed commitment of the agency towards ensuring the protection of the West African sub-region against the scourge of illicit drug trafficking.
He revealed that the agency was working out modalities to engage member states of the sub-region in bilateral agreements and signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that would strengthen cooperation, enhance intelligence sharing and mitigate constraints.
