By Tola Gbadamosi

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No fewer than 154 drug offenders have been arrested, while 46 were convicted and sentenced to various jail terms between January and June 2022.

The Ondo state Commander of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, (NDLEA), Mr Mumuni Raji, made this known, during an interview with The Hope in his office.

He said “we have successfully convicted 46 from January to June in 2022 and are serving various jail terms. We see it as a great development.

 “We arrested 154 drug offenders in the state. This is worrisome because by the end of last year 2021, we only arrested 80  offenders.

“Among those arrested were 28 females, while 126 were males.

“There were cases of some parents who voluntarily brought their children for rehabilitation.

The Commander stated that sometimes “We engage the services medical practitioners and Psychiatrists from the Federal Federal Medical Center (FMC), Owo to also see it from their professional angle and this is because some of the drug addicts come with mental cases.

“These doctors counsel them, but for those arrested, all we do is to prosecute them.

“We have put in place awareness programmes aimed at sensitising the public against drug abuse.

“We go to secondary schools, tertiary institutions, market places, motor parks, churches and mosques to drum up awareness on the effects of drugs and why they should stop taking it.

He advised the people of Ondo state to stay away from any act of criminality and drug dealings, saying drug dealings and drug abuse pay nobody.

“There is no benefits in drug abuse. Whatever anyone do with drug is evil. Drug dealers should find a better way of making legitimate income, because drug deal will lead them to destruction or land them in jail.