The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) on Friday said it arrested 251 illicit drug suspects under 12 months in Enugu State.

Its Commander in the state, Mr Anthony Ohanyere, made the remark at the 2015 United Nations Drug Day celebration in Enugu.

Ohanyere said that the agency also seized a total of 1,339,000 kilogrammes of cannabis sativa and 14 grammes of cocaine worth N130,000,000 during the period.

He added that the drugs were not part of the cocaine and heroin impounded at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport.

Ohanyere said that the state was under “the yoke of illicit drug pandemic” alongside other states of the federation.

He called on all Nigerian parents to care for their children as well as inculcate good values in them for a better society.

In his speech, Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Mr Benjamin Ajah condemned illicit drug trafficking.

Ugwuanyi said that the government would continue to fight drug abuse and illicit drug trafficking in Enugu to achieve a crime-free society.

He said the government would continue to work with the NDLEA in the fight against illicit drugs in the state.

Ugwuanyi said his administration would leave no stone unturned in battling all elements associated with drug abuse and illicit drug trafficking.

He called on the youth in the state to be law abiding by desisting from illicit drugs and other vices to make the society free from crimes.

Dr Paul Odinka, Psychiatric Unit, University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Ituku-Ozalla, Enugu, was the guest lecturer at the occasion.

The Guest Lecturer on the occasion, Dr Paul Odinka, said illicit drugs use was common among males between 18 years and 34 years, adding that majority of them did so before the age 22.

Odinka, a psychiatrist at the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, said that drug abuse had serious negative consequences on anyone who indulged in it and on the entire society.

He said that the effect of drug abuse led to many evil practices, especially rape, robbery and mental illness, among others.

He urged Nigerians to support the NDLEA in making sure that drug abuse was eradicated to ensure a crime-free society. (NAN)