By IBIRONKE ARIYO

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has recorded significant successes in dismantling drug trafficking networks that recruit and exploit women for illicit drug operations across the country.

Mr Femi Babafemi, the Director of Media and Advocacy, NDLEA, made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Abuja.

Babafemi said the agency has consistently targeted not only drug couriers and traffickers but also the masterminds behind criminal networks that prey on women and other vulnerable groups.

According to him, the agency’s strategy goes beyond arresting individuals caught transporting illicit substances to tracing and apprehending those coordinating the operations.

“We don’t just stop at the level of the traffickers or the mules.

“We follow the chain to the top of the ladder to ensure that the big masterminds hiding behind various fronts to recruit women and vulnerable groups into these activities are brought to book.

“We have been very successful in doing that,” he said.

Babafemi noted that several investigations involving women recruited into drug trafficking had led to the arrest and prosecution of those behind the syndicates.

He, however, identified cultural and religious barriers as some of the challenges confronting the agency’s efforts to prevent women from being drawn into drug-related crimes.

According to him, such barriers sometimes limit direct access to certain groups of women during advocacy and sensitisation campaigns.

The NDLEA spokesman said the agency adopted community-based approaches to overcome the challenge by working closely with local stakeholders and influencers.

He explained that collaboration with community leaders and other relevant groups had enabled the agency to reach women who might otherwise be inaccessible through conventional awareness programmes.

“Because the first thing is prevention, there are some parts of the country where you cannot just go directly to address women.

“We have to work with local people and those already involved in such communities to be able to get through to them because of certain religious and cultural barriers,” he said.

Babafemi said in spite of the challenges, the agency has made progress through strategic partnerships and sustained advocacy.

He urged women to resist attempts by drug trafficking cartels to lure them into criminal activities.

Describing women as builders and stabilisers of families, communities and nations, Babafemi encouraged them to uphold positive values and reject influences capable of undermining their roles in society.

“Women are expected to counter such negative influences within their circles and build resilience against temptations that may push them into activities that destroy social values.

“They should remain builders of families, homes and communities rather than yield to the tricks of drug trafficking syndicates,” he said.

Babafemi reaffirmed the agency’s commitment to intensifying prevention, enforcement and public awareness efforts aimed at protecting vulnerable groups from exploitation by drug trafficking networks. (NAN)

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