Rivers NDLEA sues for surveillance camera vehicles

By Brave Dickson

The Rivers State Command of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has identified some technologies required to nip illicit drugs in the bud which the command says it is lacking at the moment.

The state NDLEA underscored the need for the command to have some technologies like surveillance camera vehicles, recorder for its informants among others, adding that such devices would go a long way in making the operations of the command very effective.

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Speaking with our correspondent, The State Public Relations Officer of NDLEA, Mr Emmanuel Ogbumgbada said: “We need a lot of technologies for our activities such as recorder, surveillance vehicles that have cameras. If we have these, they will help to expand our operational capacity.

“When we send our informants to go into the midst of drug dealers, they will require recording gadgets because we don’t want to arrest innocent persons. Sometimes when we go to a joint to make an arrest, we often discover just one dealer and several users. When our informants come back, we can replay the recorder to know the dealer so we can single out the dealer for arrest.”

The issue of drug abuse is a well-known phenomenon and a common thing among adolescents and adults. The consequences of drug abuse pose a great concern because the chief culprits and victims are the youths who are the future leaders of the nation.

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People generally misuse or abuse drugs because the substance does alter their mode of behaviour. Over the years, the use of hard drugs like cocaine, heroin, Indian hemp and others have drastically been on the increase.

There are also some zones at the border in Nigeria that are not well-guarded, which makes it even easier for drug dealers to smuggle in hard drugs. Some criminals also use air cargo services for trafficking.

This has made drug trafficking to assume a frighten dimension and poses a serious threat to human and national security. Some of these substances are mostly produced outside the country and are on high demand and seriously being abused by people of different classes including religious and cultural backgrounds.

The problem is so deep and complex in the country that it might take decades more to take care of it.