Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, have raided and sealed Diplomatic Suite Hotel, Asokoro Abuja in a joint operation with men of the Department of State Services, DSS to stop a cannabis party and the launch of a suspected new psychoactive drink.
The spokesperson for the agency, Femi Babafemi, confirmed the development to newsmen on Thursday morning.
According to Babafemi, the party which was organised by three ladies happened on Wednesday night 20th April, following actionable intelligence that some youths were planning to hold a hemp party at the hotel.
Newsmen reports that the agency has been engaged in a battle against the abuse of drugs and substances in the country.
Although Babafemi did not confirm the number of suspects arrested, a Twitter user who was present at the event during the time of the arrest confirmed that over a hundred individuals were arrested.
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The user who tweeted via his personal Twitter account, @Ezioimmauel, said about a hundred of them were arrested.
He tweeted, “(We are) In the police station right now. (I) was at a 4/20 party in Asokoro and they burst it. Asokoro, Abuja. There (are) hundreds of us in custody right now. Everyone’s still accounted for I think.”
Confirming the arrest, Babafemi said, “We arrested some youths holding a hemp party in Abuja. In addition to the party is the launching of a new drink. The party was organised by three ladies. They are in our custody. We will issue a statement on the incident shortly.”
The NDLEA is a federal law enforcement Agency established by Decree No. 48 of 29th December 1989. The promulgation of the decree was chiefly in response to the rising trend in the demand for and trafficking of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances which adversely affected the international image of Nigerians and Nigeria in the 1980s. Since then the trafficking of illicit substances has become an organised criminal activity that undermines the security and development of the country and therefore demands urgent attention and priority from the government.
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NDLEA is in charge of drug policy and control in Nigeria. Within this purview, the Agency has the mandate to curtail illicit production, importation, exportation, sale and trafficking of psychoactive substances. Employees of NDLEA carry out interdiction and destruction of narcotic drugs and other illicit substances. They also engage in preventive drug abuse activities such as advocacy and counselling, and rehabilitation of drug users.
In fulfilling the mandate of the Agency, thousands of expert narcotic operatives and well-trained support staff of NDLEA work across Nigeria with a visible presence at international airports, seaports, border crossing and major highways. Committed to keeping society safe from the dangers of illicit substances and their purveyors, NDLEA operatives are actively engaged in the tracking, arrest and prosecution of traffickers of dangerous substances under the various relevant drug laws of Nigeria.