NO fewer than 38 suspected Indian hemp dealers have been arrested by the Kogi State command of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) with 73 bags of indian hemp.

The suspects, including six women, were arrested in a raid carried out by a combined team of 70 officers from the NDLEA, Army and State Security Service (SSS) at the Lokoja Local Government Trailers’ Park in Obajana.

The state Commander of the NDLEA , Alhaji Idris Bello, who described the operation as a major one, said, apart from the 73 bags of cannabis, 421 tubes of rubber solution were recovered from the suspects.

“Other narcotic substances recovered from them include several packs of cough syrup, 217 sachets of Diazepam, Erinmore tobacco, several bottles of dry gin both local and foreign.

He said the command received information on the activities of the drug dealers and users in the area, adding that when they went on surveillance, it was discovered that it was a big racket which required the collaboration of some other agencies to carry out the operation.

“We went with 40 NDLEA officers and 15 each from the Army and the SSS with their arms and ammunitions and vehicles. We need more resources to effectively tackle this menace. We are handicapped by dearth of resources,” he said.

He appealed to the Kogi government to come to the aid of the command in the area of logistics to effectively fight the war against illicit drugs.

Bello said most of them were smokers who would go on counseling or rehabilitation while the dealers and their men would be prosecuted after investigations.

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