Recent reports that the United Nations General Assembly (UNGASS) has passed a resolution on alternative development programme for cultivators of Indian hemp is as cheering as it is heart warming. It should certainly be seen as one of the greatest achievements of the country's drug agency, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) since it's inception.

The road towards achieving this remarkable feat has been, no doubt, a tortuous one. The journey began at the 47th session of the Commission on Narcotics Drugs (CND) in March, 2004 in Vienna, Austria where Nigeria's Chief Executive of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Alhaji Bello Lafiaji sponsored a draft resolution requesting that African cannabis producers be treated the way the Asian cultivators of poppy and Latin American cultivators of coca are treated.

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LAGOS -- For the cause of the fatherland, they enlisted into the service at different points. However, they were united by one vision and that was to rid Nigeria of the drug menace working painstakingly under the aegis of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA). Buoyed up by the expanded vision of their leader, the patriots, five in number, toiled to sanitise Nigeria, but they were felled in the cause of this duty.

Mukaila Usman Sanchi, Hassan Umar, Isaiah Danjuma Maje, Yakubu Ahmed Mohammed and Aina Gbadebo Olayiwola were all operatives of the NDLEA, who paid the supreme sacrifice in their zeal to cleanse the society. The officers were mowed down in cold blood by the last vestiges of the clan they were trying to rid society of. The blacklegs of society dealt their cruel blow on the operatives in their prime - all of them were in their thirties, in a gruesome manner in Kano.

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Abuja

Director General of the National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has lamented what she described as weak content of the laws on fake and illicit drugs. She regretted that the laws in this area lack punitive measures to deter offenders.

Speaking to newsmen in Abuja, Mrs. Akunyili regretted that the weak penalty meted out to drug offenders was hampering the efforts aimed at containing the hydra-headed problem.

"Our drug laws are very weak. For us in NAFDAC, we have been simply applying our decretive guidelines. We saw the weakness of the law as an emergency. We hired lawyers who drafted a bill for us, which we submitted to the National Assembly", she said, noting that the National Assembly was still working on the bill.

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Lagos

Five officers of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) killed in Kano in October were remembered yesterday in Lagos at the Agency's headquarters.

Speaking at the event witnessed by people from the diplomatic corps, families of the slain officers and top government functionaries, Alhaji Bello Lafiaji, Chief Executive of the agency said perpetrators of the heinous crime have murdered sleep.

In an emotion-laden voice, Lafiaji stressed that NDLEA was only the arrow head of the fight against drug trafficking and enjoined all members of the society to join the agency in curbing the drug menace.

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National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA),has declared that its regional academy based in jos was now properly positioned and equiped to deliver basic, referential, specialized and advanced training programmes on drug control in diverse areas of law enforcement in general in the country.

The Agency's Chairman and Chief Executive Dr.lafiaji who dropped this hint last weekend in Jos at the launching of the computer based training (CBT) programme for the NDLEA regional academy threw an open invitation to all sisterlaw enforcement organisations in the country to take advantage of facilities at the NDLEA academy to provide the much needed training for their staff.

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THE National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Edo Command, has paraded 20 persons for allegedly trafficking in Indian hemp.

Parading the suspects before newsmen, the state NDLEA Commander, Mr. Mathew Omohoihude, attributed their arrest to "information given to the agency by some well-meaning people in the state".

The commander noted the thriving illicit drug business in Edo. For instance, the command impound eight tones of weeds, loaded in a trailer tanker with registration number XG757 LXR, and a 504 Peugeot car between October and November 2004, he said.

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The Armed Forces and other security outfits in Adamawa State have resolved to collaborate with the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA towards combating the rising wave of crime and drug abuse in the society.

The Agencies resolved at an interactive session in Yola called by the State Commander of the NDLEA, Mallam Baba Husseini.

The Brigade Commander 23rd Armored Brigade, Yola Brigadier General J.B Ahmadu assured of the total commitment of the Army in helping to combat drug menace in the society and the barracks in particular.

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Lagos -- Hell was let loose at NAHCO Shed of the Murtala Mohammed Airport, Ikeja, Lagos yesterday as men of the airport command of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) engaged the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) security personnel in a free for all fight.

Eye witness account said the fracas would have degenerated into a major problem but for the timely intervention of the commander of the NDLEA, Airport Command, Alhaji Abdullahi Danburam.

According to the eye witness, trouble started when some FAAN security men manning the gates leading to the NAHCO Shed stopped an NDLEA operative from using the main gate meant only for vehicles entry the premises.

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Gombe -- Gombe state Command of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested 273 youths in the state for drug abuse.

The agency has also confiscated hard drugs weighing 153 kilogrammes between September last year to date.

The Area Commander Mr Illiya Kaltungo during a courtesy call on Governor Danjuma Goje, said the drug suspects were arrested as a result of constant patrol.

He said his command has been liaising with traditional rulers and other stakeholders in order to make their operation a success.

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Lagos - NEMESIS has caught up with a mobile policeman who provided escort for a syndicate which specialises in drug trafficking.

The cop and a civilian were nabbed Thursday by the Bayelsa State Police Command during a stop and search operation at the East-West Road. The cop and two others driving in a Toyota bus with registration number AR 734 BEN were found with 50 bags of Indian hemp.

It was gathered that the cop whose name is Anelka Nelson who claimed to be serving with MOPOL 5 Benin City wanted to use his influence to stall the search on the bag but he was rebuffed by the police men on duty.

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About 60 officials of National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have lost their lives since the inception of the Agency to criminal barons in horrific circumstances without discrimination to tribe, tongue, sex or creed of the victims.

This information was disclosed yesterday in Lagos by the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Chief Akin Olujinmi, during the 2004 Red Ribbon Day in commemoration of NDLEA narcotic agents who died in active duty.

In a paper read on behalf of the minister by Bola Odugbesan, there is a very serious linkage between drugs and crimes as most criminal activities in the country have drug connections.

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Lagos - The Ekiti State Command of the National Drug Law Enforcement Ag-ency (NDLEA) made a major break through recently when its men raided about 10 hectares of Indian Hemp plantation laocated on a sloppy hill in the thick forest between Ikare-Ekiti and Igbara -Odo Ekiti in Ekiti South Local Government Area of the state.

Among other journalists, this reporter was among others conducted round the plantation by the officials of NDLEA led by the State Commander, Mr. Victor Fadeyi, in company of three suspects involved in the cultivation of the dangerous weed.

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A Pakistani was one of 14 suspects paraded yesterday for drug peddling by the Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA) Command of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA)

The Pakistani (names withheld) was arrested on August 15, 2004 with 2kg of heroine on arrival aboard Kenya Airways from Nairobi.

The suspect, who said he was on a sojourn to Nigeria for a job promised by his sponsor, said he was unaware that the drug was concealed in his bag, as what was of importance to him was the job he was coming for.

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Recent wide-spread abuse of hard drugs and its negative implications in Lagos have become a serious source of concern in the metropolis.

THREE men were seated at the wooden bench provided by the road-side petty trader near the under-bridge at Airport Bus Stop, Lagos when a young fellow sauntered in with a lighted stick of marijuana in his right hand. He blew the marijuana smoke at this reporter's face and immediately apologised.

Sporting a T-shirt with red and white stripes, a blue pair of jeans trousers with a cap to match, he drew another lungful of marijuana smoke and requested for a glass of paraga, (a locally brewed gin mixed with roots and herbs) from the petty trader. While he smoked and drank, with his right hand, his left palm clutched a thick sheaf of naira notes of various low denominations. He puffed the marijuana few more times and threw away what could pass for the butt of the weed which was wrapped like a cigarette. Within a jiffy he dashed back to the nearby bus stop.

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Lagos

Chairman/Chief Executive of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Alhaji Bello Lafiaji, has charged the NDLEA state and special area commanders to demonstrate more sense of accountability and responsibility in their stewardship to ensure an unparalleled performance by the turn of the year.

According to a statement by Mr. Jonah Achema, Assistant Director, Public Affairs of the Agency, the NDLEA Comman-ders' Summit, which held in Lagos last week, was used to passed the message across. The summit, which was the second this year, was convened to xray the performance of the commanders with a view to inculcating the cardinal objectives of "accountability and responsibility." All commanders of the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) as well as ten special area commanders were in attendance.

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CHAIRMAN/CHIEF of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Alhaji Bello Lafiaji at the weekend made a shocking revelation of the involvement of a 14-year-old school girl, Lucy Ugwah in the illicit drug business, saying the involvement of youths in drug trafficking portends great danger for the future of the country.

Lafiaji who spoke during the joint public destruction of 2.2 tons of cannabis sativa (Indian hemp), 10.3 grams of cocaine and 97.1 grams of heroine by the Enugu, Anambra and Ebonyi State Commands of the agency in Enugu, said the girl was arrested in Onitsha, Anambra State while trying to smuggle 6.5 kilograms of cannabis sativa.

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New Law Imposes N100 Million Fine Daily On Any Financial Institution That Aids It

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), has drawn the attention of financial institutions, particularly banks, to the consequences of a violation of the new money laundering act, stating that the law compels Compliance Officers in the banks to report suspicious transactions that have to do with money laundering to law enforcement agencies for investigation.

Delivering a paper entitled: "Recognising, Repor-ting and Combating Suspicious Transactions: Role of the Compliance Officer", at a two-day national seminar with the theme: "Repositioning the Compliance Officer in the Administration of the Money Laundering Prohi-bition", organised by the NDLEA in Lagos for banks and financial institutions officials, NDLEA Director of Prosecution and Legal Services, Mr Femi Oloruntoba, said reporting suspicious transactions was one of the mandatory responsibilities imposed on a financial institutions by the law as a tool to fight money laundering. Oloruntoba warned the banks on the consequences of the violation, stating that any defaulting institution was liable to a fine of N100 million for each day the offence continues.

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Lagos - Tragedy was averted recently by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), as 71 wraps of heroin were removed from the stomach of a drug-trafficker through surgery in Lagos.

The 26-year old suspect, Okonkwo Ugochukwu, who was arrested on May 2, 2004 on arrival from Karachi, Pakistan, was said to have developed complications while on observation because he could not excrete all the hard drugs he had earlier swallowed to avoid detection.

According to Murtala Moham-med International Airport Comm-ander of NDLEA, Alhaji Abdullahi Danburam, the suspect confessed to NDLEA officials that the man that gave him the drugs made him to swallow 25 capsules of Flagyl and some capsules of Tetracycline.

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The Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA) Command of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has apprehended 55 Nigerians deported from overseas' countries for drug-related offences in the last six months.

The command also arrested 65 suspects, including the 12 paraded yesterday, and 159.59kg of hard drugs and psycho tropic substances during the same period.

Commander of the NDLEA at the airport, Alhaji Abdullahi Danburam, who disclosed this at a briefing yesterday, said the arrest this year was seven cases higher than the 48 arrests made of deported suspects within the same period last year.

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Lagos

Representative of United Nation Drug Control Organisation (UNODC) in Nigeria, Mr. Paul Salay, has confirmed that over $500 billion is laundered annually over the world with $280 billion of the amount accounting for drug trade just as he commended the effort of Nigerian government in combating money laundering.

Revealing this information yesterday in Lagos during the opening ceremony of a two-day national seminar titled, "Repositioning the Compliance Officer in the Due Administration of the Money Laundering Prohibition Act 2004," organised by National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Salay said criminals with enormous pool of illegal wealth have taken over financial institutions and acquired control of large sectors of the economy through investments or offer of bribes to public officers, adding that the resultant effect is that these criminals end up exerting strong socio-economic and political influence over the affairs of the nations.

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