Between January and March, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) arrested over 80 suspected drug dealers and seized more than 3,000 kg of drugs in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

Mr Kabir Tsukuwa, Commander of Narcotics, NDLEA, FCT Command, said this in an interview with NAN on Wednesday in Abuja.

Tsakuwa said that over 50 suspects had been prosecuted, adding that out of the number, 12 had been convicted and sentenced to different jail terms.

He said that the command had been going after the drug peddlers and the records were there.

”If not for the continuous effort of the agency and the command in particular, the drug situation in FCT and even the entire country would have been worse,” he said.

The NDLEA commander said that the current situation of drug abuse in the FCT was not a peculiar one as it was the same world over.

Tsakuwa said that drug abuse was a major concern to all countries of the world.

He said that all regional and global bodies were advocating for global concerted efforts to deal with the challenge of drug trafficking and abuse.

According to him, the command had maintained consistent raids of drug joints within the FCT, even though that cannot be said to have been dismantled completely but it was a continuous process.

“There is no society that is crime free, not even the developed world.

“In 2023 alone, we arrested over 500 suspects with over 7,000kg of assorted drug seizure and conviction of over 200 offenders,” he said.