Officials of the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) have raided a drug dealers’ colony located around the Kubwa-Dutse road interchange, where two suspects were arrested and over 45kg of a substance believed to be Indian hemp seized.
The sting operation, carried out after the FCT Ministerial Taskforce on City Sanitation concluded a cleanup at Dutse market, got passersby talking because the destroyed drug dealers hideout was situated only a few meters away from a police station along the axis.
The Senior Special Assistant to the FCT Minister on Monitoring, Inspection and Enforcement, Attah Ikharo, who led the operation, said the drug colony was exposed by security intelligence, warranting a marching order from the minister, Malam Muhammad Bello, for its destruction.
Ikharo, who expressed displeasure over the rate of illegal activities by some residents, said the suspects and the seized drugs have been handed over to operatives of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) for further investigation.
He also lamented the illegal activities of roadside traders who, he said, had returned to the Dutse market after the menace was tackled some months ago.
According to him, the chaotic situation at Dutse market, which the FCTA invested so much resources and time to tackle, was beginning to return, due to the compromise of some market managers and unscrupulous officials.
Also speaking, the Deputy Director Enforcement of Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB), Kaka Bello, said the enforcement team will not backtrack in its mission to restore environmental order to the city.
