A prominent artist was among those arrested and he had 116 pinches of colos (hard drugs).
By TheInvestigator
The National Drugs Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested the organizers of a smoke carnival in Cross River State.
While on patrol yesterday Wednesday 31st of January, 2023 in Calabar, the Cross River State capital NDLEA officers intercepted the event organizers.
Mr. Archibong Bassey John, Principal Staff Officer in charge of Recruitment Training and Manpower Development in the State disclosed this while speaking Thursday afternoon at the Southern Senatorial District Security Town Hall meeting by the National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN), Cross River chapter.
A prominent artist was among those arrested and he had 116 pinches of colos (hard drugs).
He said, “Yesterday (Tuesday) we were on patrol and an artist said they went to do a smoke carnival. Carnival to smoke, and we caught some of them, a prominent artiste was caught with colos, 116 pinches.”
Defining drugs he said, “It is any substance which when taken into the body changes your mode psychologically, physically and otherwise.”
Mr. Archibong who was recently transferred from Akwa Ibom State said “Crime and drugs go hand in hand, research has shown. From NDLEA’s point of view, you cannot separate drugs from crime, 99.9% of people that commit crime have to do with one influence of drugs or the other.”
He further said “The trigger of insecurity in the country has to do with drug abuse and influence of drugs, that is why the fight against drug abuse and illicit trafficking is key and fundamental because ordinarily somebody can’t do something when there is no influence.
“As a trainer, I have been able to rehabilitate and counsel drug peddlers and abusers and I found out that these individuals are genuine people and they need help. Most of them reintegrate into the society and they are useful.
“Once a crime is committed it is either the offender is under one type of influence or another, it’s a fact.”
On the impact of drug usage, he said “There are economic, physical, social and other types of impact of drug use.”
Mr. Archibong called on all and sundry to join the fight against drug abuse and trafficking. He said “The fight against drugs is not for security agencies alone, it is for us. Because prediction has shown that if the youths are hooked on drugs the health of that nation is in jeopardy, the strength of the nation will not be there anymore because of drugs.
“Statistics have shown that the women are even more into it than the men, it is a sorry state for us but there is light at the end of the tunnel.”