Secret Reporters No place to hide
Secret Reporters
Drug trafficking is a primary concern for several societies and countries worldwide due to its negative impact on consumers and societies. The United Nation office on drug and Crime defined drug trafficking as a global illicit trade involving the cultivation, manufacture, distribution, and sale of substances subject to drug prohibition laws.
To curtail the continuous growth of this illicit business and trade in Nigeria, the Nigerian government enacted the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency Act, which established the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency. The agency was given the mandate to fight drug trafficking in the country.
Section 11, Part II of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency Act prohibits anyone without any lawful authority from importing, manufacturing, producing, processing, planting, or growing, drugs like cocaine, LSD, heroin, or any form of illegal drugs. Anyone found guilty of the offense shall be sentenced to prison for life.
It also added that any person who, exports, transports, or otherwise traffics in the drugs popularly known as cocaine, LSD heroine, or any other similar drugs shall be guilty of an offense and liable on conviction to be sentenced to imprisonment for life.
Moreso, the sale, buying, exposing, or offer for sale, or otherwise dealing in or with the drugs popularly known as cocaine, LSD, heroin, or other similar drugs shall be guilty of an offense and liable on conviction to be sentenced to imprisonment for life.
Finally, it states that any person who knowingly possesses or uses the drugs popularly known as cocaine, LSD, heroin, or any other similar drugs by smoking, inhaling, or injecting the said drugs shall be guilty of an offense on conviction to imprisonment for a term not less than fifteen years but not exceeding 25 years.
However, irrespective of these laws and the showcased aggressive fight against this illicit crime by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), the police, and other Law Enforcement Agencies in the country, one continues to wonder where and how these drugs are shipped, sold and who the final consumers are.
On these notes, SecretReporters set out and carried out an investigation, following a major scoop.
Upon the scoop, our reporters stormed the Karu Area Council of Abuja. As our reporters drove towards a street known as Abattoir, flanked by Payless Mall, Karu, it was noticed that young boys littered the street, on both sides, with bags that contained what were later confirmed to be drugs of all kinds, being sold like every other commodity in an open market. More shocking was the discovery of a police checkpoint around the street.
It was discovered that Abattoir, located close to an animal Market in the Karu axis of Abuja by the boundary between the FCT and Nassarwa State, is a major hub for the sales of these illicit drugs like Crack, Codeine, Molly, Tramadol, Refnol, Rochi, Arizona, Loud (Canadian and Ghananain loud), in Abuja.
Upon entrance into the street, our team of reporters, who were yet to alight from the vehicle, was greeted by several young men holding bags, majorly nylon, containing several illegal drugs, with the sellers, who majorly speak Hausa, boldly approaching the reporters, displaying their drugs and appealing for patronage.
As our reporters drove along the street down to the market, they continued chasing after our vehicle, forcing their products into our vehicle through the louvers already wound down with their continuous inquiry of which product our reporters intended to purchase.
Our reporters interviewed a primary Abattoir drug dealer who remained anonymous to get more information about these drug activities.
Appearing like a successful businessman, the dealer narrated his story. He says he deals in several varieties of illegal drugs except cocaine. He noted that he had to get into the business of drugs as there was no job for him after graduation. Seeing that drug trafficking is a lucrative business, he decided to get into it and has over 25 years of experience in drug trafficking.
He disclosed that the drug operation in Abattoir is an age-long operation and has existed for over 30 years, with the Law Enforcement Agencies doing nothing about it.
He stated that there is a romance between the Law Enforcement Agencies, especially the NDLEA, and the drug dealers in Abattoir; when there is any raid by these agencies, the Abattoir boys are always aware. He said that the standard raiding time in Abattoir is on Fridays, and when they make an arrest, some of the boys are most times released once their “chairman” intervenes.
Speaking of how these drugs get to Abuja and where they are bought, he said they are mainly bought in bulk from Delta State, Benin City in Edo State, and Ibadan. He noted that they are hidden in food items like bags of garri, rice, cattle, etc., and transported to Abuja.
According to him, other major drugs spot in Abuja apart from Abattoir are Mpape and Bannex, the major headquarters for Abuja’s illegal drug hubs.
The dealer also revealed that politicians are part of their customers, noting that those people do not take Marijuana but other drugs like Cocaine. By this time, he noted that it is difficult to bring drug trafficking to an end.
Finally, he noted that the boys who sell drugs in Abattoir usually do that as a full-time job and do not live close to the area. With that, there are no cases of rapes and other vices around the area that could be the effect of drug abuse.
At the time of this investigation, SecretReporters could not ascertain the politicians who patronize the dealers and the officials who take bribes from them, aiding the thriving of the illegal drug business in the nation’s seat of power.
