The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency on Thursday disclosed how the agency arrested a top drug baron who stashed N20 billion in 103 banks.
NDLEA Chairman, Brig. Gen Buba Marwa stated this during the defense of the agency’s 2022 budget performance and 2023 proposal before the House of Representatives Committee of Drugs and Narcotics.
“We have arrested and are prosecuting so far 28 barons with seizures worth billions of naira. Indeed, one of the barons we found had 103 bank accounts with a total balance of over 20 billion naira, which we have frozen.” he said.
He added that in the intensified efforts against the drug war under his watch, the agency had detained and is prosecuting 28 barons with seizures worth billions of naira. He claimed that because of the hard battle the NDLEA wage against drug barons, they are now after the agency’s agents.
The NDLEA boss also raised the problem of barracks accommodation for the agency’s operatives’ safety.
“The barracks issue is very critical to us because as we all know the NDLEA is very aggressive now against drug traffickers and the drug barons and when you arrest and prosecute them and send them to jail, they are not happy. So they come after our personnel and with our personnel living in the town and cities and among them, we have been recording casualties and assassinations against them.”
He stated that the agency is in the midst of constructing a barrack for NDLEA staff for the first time as a result of Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) involvement, as well as constructing three laboratory centers, two forensic laboratories, and procuring security equipment.
