2023 ‘ll be tougher for drug barons and cartels – Marwa
Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retd), Chairman/CEO of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, has warned that unrepentant drug barons and gangs will face harder times in 2023 if they do not give up the illicit drug trade.
On the second anniversary of his leadership of the anti-narcotics organization, Marwa offered the warning on January 18 during a news conference at the NDLEA national headquarters in Abuja to update the public on the Agency’s efforts to rid the nation of drug addiction and trafficking.
He claims, “Last year, I made a New Year’s appeal to them and cautioned that those who did not heed the warning may find themselves in a challenging circumstance. 34 barons are already in our net, and they are being tried in court. Orders for the temporary confiscation of their assets have been obtained by us. They can anticipate spending a significant amount of time behind bars and having their riches and possessions permanently forfeited thanks to our excellent prosecution. People that deal in illegal drugs should take a cue from our behavior.
They might anticipate a challenging year this year once more. “The evidence is overwhelming: in the first two weeks of this year, we have already dismantled three significant drug cartels, one of which has established enormous networks around the globe and at least six of its top leaders are currently in our custody. The information you will learn in the upcoming days.
We have detained 26, 458 drug traffickers over the past two years, including 34 barons. We successfully prosecuted 3,733 individuals over the course of 24 months, and they were found guilty and given a range of jail sentences. 2,346 convictions were recorded in 2022 alone, which is the greatest in the Agency’s history and nearly twice as many as in the previous 33 years of the NDLEA. This is not by accident; rather, it is the consequence of our officers’ professionalism, tenacity, dedication, and hard work.
