Drug Trafficking: Nigeria, India Agree To Share Intelligence

Nigeria and India have agreed to share intelligence on the activities of drug trafficking syndicates operating drug routes between both countries.

This was disclosed in a statement on Tuesday by the Director, Media and Advocacy of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Femi Babafemi.

Advertisement

According to the statement, the agreement was reached at the end of a two-day bilateral meeting held in New Delhi, India between a delegation of the NDLEA, led by its Chairman Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retd) and its India counterpart, Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), led by its Director General, Satya Narayan Pradhan.

Under the agreement, India is expected to train NDLEA officers to strengthen their capacity.

“The meeting also recommended exchange of best practices in drug demand reduction and sharing of real time information on the involvement of nationals of both countries in drug trafficking as well as conducting joint operations, while agreeing to hold another bilateral meeting in Nigeria in 2023. Another key objective of the India meeting was the collaboration between NDLEA and NCB on how to control the importation of tramadol above 100mg as well as certain categories of precursors into Nigeria,” the statement said.

In his presentation, Marwa underscored the importance of the meeting to the global action against drug trafficking considering preceding history of both countries, which cut across language, legal systems, population and trade relations. He reiterated the need for strengthened collaboration between the two agencies in the fight against illicit drug cultivation, production and trafficking.

Advertisement

Highlighting Nigeria’s drug use and trafficking challenges, the NDLEA boss noted the increased national efforts to adopting a balanced approach to addressing both the drug supply and demands reduction.

“He further underlined the importance of international cooperation and stakeholders’ engagement, adding that Nigeria has a National Drug Control Master Plan as the veritable tool to drug control and enforcement, which has facilitated effective co-ordination at federal and state levels and is being encouraged at the local government level.

“He expressed the hope that a Memorandum of Understanding, MoU, that would define the relationship between the two agencies with reference to information sharing, assets tracing and forfeiture of assets found to be connected to, and/or proceeds, of drug trafficking would be finalised soon,” the agency stated

In his remarks, Pradhan of NCB, highlighted the issues around trafficking of Heroin and Amphetamine Type Stimulants (ATS) in the country, adding that drug trafficking through maritime and air route is a challenge for both countries.

ThE WHISLER had on Sunday reported how the agency said in a statement that it arrested one Nwadinobi Charles Uchemadu, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos, who came in from Sao Paulo, Brazil via Doha on a Qatar Airways flight, with parcels of cocaine hidden in different parts of a travel bag.

Advertisement

According to the statement, the Brazil returnee was carrying three parcels of cocaine weighing 2.70 kilograms factory sealed in parts of his travel bag.

The NDLEA also intercepted 3.4 kilograms of cannabis going to Dubai, United Arab Emirates ( UAE), concealed in cans of powdered milk, baby food and beverages, and subsequently arrested a freight agent, Ewelike Chibuike Cyril who presented the consignment for export.

Similarly, the agency impounded parcels of cannabis weighing 6.30kgs concealed in sound systems (speakers) going to Malabo, Equatorial Guinea through the SAHCO export shed of the airport.

Leave a comment

Advertisement