The new commander, Abia State National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, Mr Junaidu C. Yusuf has confirmed that the command has made some arrest of those patronizing the deadly hard drugs called Mkpuru Mmiri (methamphetamine) in Abia State.
Mr Yusuf who also confirmed that Methamphetamine has entered Abia, revealed this during an exclusive interview with National Watch in his office in Aba, Abia State and described Mkpuru Mmiri “meth” as more dangerous than cocaine, heroine as well as other hard drugs.
According to him, meth that is being manufactured is found mostly now in the south east, stating that the Northern part of Nigeria has not experience it.
Yusuf stated that the command would continue counseling the youths to shun intake of hard drugs and warned that Mkpuru Mmiri has no medical benefits.
Meth (Mkpuru Mmiri)
He solicited the support of people of good will including Abia State Government to assist NDLEA in their campaign against the use of hard drugs, as their strategy is yielding positive results and has led to some arrests especially the drug peddlers.
Mr Yusuf reminded the youths that they are the potential leaders of tomorrow and emphasized that no meaningful development will take place if the youths are into drugs.
His words “the youths need to be responsible for themselves, their families and the society in general”. So far, “NDLEA has two types of arrests, one, on drug dealers whose interest is to make money on the detriment of the drug takers and secondly, users who are lured possibly by their peer groups to start taking drugs”.
He explained that after arresting drug users, they undergo rehabilitation and counseling, while dealers are arrested and prosecuted. The NDLEA boss in Abia said some drug users who are under rehabilitation was made possible through requests and informed that after rehabilitation, they hand them over back to their parents. He opined that counseling is the best approach to advice those patronizing drugs to desist, but whereby they do not adhere to their appeal, the use of force will come in. ”
He also maintained that NDLEA has limited logistics to go round and therefore appealed to Abia State Government and other stakeholders to assist them with logistics like vehicles and funding, promising that the issue of drugs will be history in Abia because they will do their best when they receive adequate support. He added that meth was created in Japan from the laboratory during the second world war, just to destroy some section of people.
Meanwhile, the PRO of the command, Abdullahi Halidu, said people are abusing drugs when it’s cheaper. He disclosed that one rape of Mkpuru Mmiri is as cheap as one hundred naira.
“meth was being produced in Nigeria and exported outside the country, frowning that Nigerians have started abusing it even when it has no medical benefits, but because it is cheaper, it is more accessible to the youths”.
According to him, meth was produced in Afghanistan with Ephedrine, other addicts and has no medical purpose unlike the cocaine. So, it’s just like a killer drug and also called a party drug, because alot of girls died during club period because they abuse this drug. He told National Watch that recently in Imo State, “a boy took the drug (Mkpuru Mmiri) and killed his parents under the influence”.
“We will do more sensitization outside the operational activities to make people understand the effects of this drug, so that they will not into it at all”.
