Commander of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), in Kwara State, Ibrahim Mohammed yesterday lamented online drug sale in the country.
He described online drug sales as a new dimension in the drug abuse problem in the country.
Mohamed disclosed this in a keynote address, titled, Uprise in Drug Abuse, Role of Parents, he delivered at the FIDA Week 2023 celebrations organised by the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA), Kwara State’s chapter in Ilorin, the state capital.
The NDLEA boss said that the menace is a global phenomenon, common among the youths.
“We call it the darknet where drugs are being sold online without the seller and the buyer knowing each other. All they need is contact and they make the call and the substance is delivered. It’s very common here now. What we’ve been doing is to see how to intercept them, especially the waybill coming from neighbouring states through some commercial vehicles. We have intensified our patrol system around the state.
We are gathering intelligence and we are making very good use of it. We have intercepted quite a number of them through control delivery.
“We know as the yuletide period is approaching, a lot of such would be happening. Thank God, the state governor, Mallam Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, is being proactive as he has actually supported us with provision of infrastructure to tackle the menace,” he stated.
Mohamed, who said that prevalence of drug use, drug abuse and drug addiction had led to increasing crime rate in the society, added that there is no crime without drug undertone.
He suggested some protective factors against the menace such as family harmony and bonding, affection and love for family members, proactive and positive parenting.
He advised parents to ensure effective monitoring of their children, among others.
Earlier, the state chairperson of FIDA, Gloria Okoduwa, had said that phones have taken children away from many parents, adding that family discussion had now been neglected.
She announced plans by the FIDA to take a campaign against drug abuse and its effects to major markets and other public places in the state in order to drive down the message, saying that many parents have failed the generation with their poor parenting attitude.
