NDLEA arrests 73 suspects in Kano drug raids

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Kano Strategic Command, has arrested 73 suspects and recovered various illicit drugs during coordinated raids on notorious drug dens across Kano State.

The operation, carried out on June 10 under the ongoing “Operation Sharar Mafaka”, targeted the Filin Mahaha drug den, the Sani Abacha Youth Centre and locations in the Sheka area, according to a statement issued on Thursday by the command’s Public Relations Officer, Assistant Superintendent of Narcotics Sadiq Muhammad Maigatari.

The agency said the intelligence-led operation employed a “dislodge and occupy” strategy, whereby officers move into identified drug hotspots, arrest suspects, recover illicit substances and maintain a sustained presence to prevent criminals from returning to the locations.

Items recovered during the raid included cannabis sativa, diazepam, pregabalin, Exol-5, a substance locally known as “suck and die”, as well as other materials associated with the distribution and consumption of illicit drugs.

The command described the exercise as part of its sustained campaign to identify, dismantle and permanently disrupt notorious drug dens across the state.

Commander of the NDLEA Kano Strategic Command, CN D.Y. Lawal, said the agency would continue to intensify operations until drug traffickers and users no longer have safe havens.

The NDLEA also appealed to residents to support its anti-drug campaign by providing timely and credible intelligence that could aid future enforcement operations.