NDLEA to clamp down on supermarkets selling cookies laced with illicit drugs

Buba Marwa, chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), has warned supermarkets, clubs and other facilities against engaging in the sale of cookies and other products laced with illicit drugs.

Speaking while receiving a briefing from the agency’s command in the federal capital territory (FCT) on Friday, Marwa said the agency will soon begin a clampdown on such facilities.

On Sunday, the agency arrested Rhoda Agboje, a 300 level university student, and Ifeanyi Nwankwo, her boyfriend, for their alleged involvement in the sale of drugged cookies to school children and other residents of FCT.

According to the NDLEA, the arrest was based on a complaint that Agboje allegedly gave an unsuspecting girl the cookies, after which the kid lost her mind, could not sleep and started making incoherent utterances due to its effects.

Speaking on the arrest in a statement by Femi Babafemi, NDLEA spokesman, Marwa said the agency will ensure that the products are prevented from getting to the public.

“As part of our preventive measures, we’ll henceforth go after supermarkets, clubs, confectionaries and other outlets and their owners, selling drug cookies, biscuits, cakes and other products laced with illicit substances under whatever guise,” he said.

“We’ll not shy away from hitting their production spots, supply and sales outlets before getting into the hands of innocent schoolchildren, unsuspecting members of the public and even our vulnerable young men and women. We won’t rest on this until we chase them out of this criminal business.

“This is why I want to seize this opportunity to warn owners and operators of supermarkets, clubs and other sales outlets to clean their stores of these illicit substances before we get to them.”